The League for Catholic Counter-Reformation (, CRC) is a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

ultramontane Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by ...

organization founded in 1967 by Georges de Nantes, a former

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

who was suspended ''a divinis'' (from administering the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

s) on 25 August 1966. The movement is composed of two religious communities, one at

Saint-Parres-lès-Vaudes Saint-Parres-lès-Vaudes (, literally ''Saint-Parres near Vaudes'') is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Aube department The following is a list of the 431 communes of the ...

in the

Aube Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),

department of France and the other in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. It is considered a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

in France.

Beliefs

The CRC's stance on doctrinal issues overlaps in many respects with that of other traditionalist Catholic groups, for example in rejecting the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, rejecting modernism, and accepting the authenticity and message of the Marian apparitions at Fátima. This does not necessarily imply that the CRC's views on all topics are shared widely or in all their particulars within the traditionalist milieu. For example, their belief in the predestination, sanctity, and unique historic role of their founder is a distinguishing characteristic. Shroud positive negative compare

Georges de Nantes and deacon Bruno Bonnet-Eymard defend the thesis of the authenticity of the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

. According to the CRC, the relic was a victim of "fraud" in the

carbon 14 Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colle ...

analysis in 1988, fraud "premeditated" by the "mafia" of

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

; the 1997 fire, which seriously damaged the Cathedral of Turin, where the Shroud is kept, would be a "final solution" found by "these hidden forces, that Freemasonry".

Status

The community of the Petits Frères du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, which belongs to the CRC, was considered as a

French Commission on Cults The French National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of France, set up a Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France (), also known as the Guyard Commission, on 11 July 1995 following the events involving the members of the Order of th ...

in the 1995 report. In 1997, the Belgian parliamentary commission established a list of 189 movements containing the CRC (see Groups referred to as cults in government documents). On July 20, 2020, the

Bishops' Conference of France The Bishops' Conference of France () (CEF) is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Catholic Church in France. Presidents Presidents of the Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops of France (1945–1966): * * * Presidents of th ...

sent a letter to all the dioceses of France warning of spiritually dangerous errors in what George de Nantes wrote concerning eucharistic doctrine, as well as traumatizing practices on his part towards female communicants. Among the causes for grave concern was what the letter describes as a "sensualist" conception of the union with Christ in the eucharist, leading to a "mystical eroticism" in the act of taking communion (which De Nantes described as a "mystical kiss", and in which he allegedly tried to train female communicants). The bishops' letter described De Nantes' concept of the mystical kiss as an "erotomanic delusion". https://eglise.catholique.fr/conference-des-eveques-de-france/textes-et-declarations/501492-avertissement-concernant-doctrine-de-contre-reforme-catholique/

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anti-Masonry Anti-Marxism Anti-Protestantism Late Modern Christian anti-Judaism Traditionalist Catholicism in Canada Antisemitism in France Far-right politics in France Antisemitism in Quebec Far-right politics in Canada Christian organizations established in 1967 Christian denominations founded in France