MAURICE BLONDEL’S DIAGNOSIS OF EXTRINSICIST “MONOPHORISM": AN ENDURING CRITIQUE OF CHRISTIAN INTEGRALISM

Autores

  • Peter James Bernardi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26694/pensando.v13i30.13783

Palavras-chave:

Maurice Blondel, Modernism (Christian Theology)—Catholic Church, Integralism, Christian Nationalism, Action Francaise, Nature-Grace Relationship Debates.

Resumo

In the early decades of the twentieth century French Catholics were sharply divided over what strategy the Church should adopt to re-Christianize society.  Under the pseudonym “Testis,” Maurice Blondel sharply criticized a Catholic alliance with the proto-fascist, nationalist movement of Action Francaise, whose leader was the notorious unbeliever Charles Maurras. This alliance had received a qualified endorsement in a series of articles published by the French Jesuit Pedro Descoqs.  In contrast, Blondel defended the Catholic social democrats who sought social justice for the workers.  Applying his philosophy of action, Blondel criticized the Catholics Maurrassians on three fundamental grounds, especially their extrinsicist [“monophorist”] understanding of the nature-grace relationship.  Balthasar considered Blondel’s "Testis" essays to be "the most penetrating analysis of [what is called] Catholic integralism [intégrisme] that . . . represents an ever recurrent temptation for militant Catholics." Blondel’s diagnosis of this integralist mentality was also evoked by Yves Congar, O.P., at the close of the Second Vatican Council: "If one had to characterize in a word the Council's approach, I would appeal to the ideal of knowledge that Maurice Blondel proposed and that he defended against what he termed rather strangely 'monophorism', that is a reified conception of knowing.”  Given the contemporary resurgence of Christian nationalist movements, Blondel’s diagnosis has lost none of its relevance.

Referências

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BERNARDI, Peter J. Maurice Blondel, Social Catholicism, and Action Française: the Clash over the Church’s Role in Society during the Modernity Era. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press of America, 2009.

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BLONDEL, Maurice. Une alliance contre nature: catholicisme et intégrisme: La Semaine sociale de Bordeaux 1910, préface de Peter Henrici et introduction historique de Michael Sutton. Bruxelles: Éditions Lessius, 2000.

DESCOQS, Pedro, S.J. “À travers l’oeuvre de M. Ch. Maurras.” Études 120 (20 July 1909), et al.

FOUILLOUX, Étienne. “Épilogue: Les jésuites en France du XIX au XX siècle.” IN : Les jésuites à Lyon XVI-XX siècle. Sous la direc-tion de Étienne Fouilloux et Bernard Hours. Lyon: ENS Éditions, 2005.

KERWIN, Michael. ”Blondel, Maurice.” IN: Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia, general ed. Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 1999.

LE GRYS, James. “The Christianization of Modern Philosophy according to Maurice Blondel.” IN: Theological Studies 54 (Sept., 1993).

LUBAC, Hemri de, S.J., A Brief Catechesis on Nature and Grace, trans. Br. Richard Arnandez, F.S.C. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984.

TAYLOR, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 2007.

FOUILLOUX, Étienne. “Épilogue: Les jésuites en France du XIX au XX siècle.” IN : Les jésuites à Lyon XVI-XX siècle. Sous la direc-tion de Étienne Fouilloux et Bernard Hours. Lyon: ENS Éditions, 2005

Publicado

2023-03-09

Como Citar

BERNARDI, P. J. . MAURICE BLONDEL’S DIAGNOSIS OF EXTRINSICIST “MONOPHORISM": AN ENDURING CRITIQUE OF CHRISTIAN INTEGRALISM. PENSANDO - REVISTA DE FILOSOFIA, [S. l.], v. 13, n. 30, p. 100-113, 2023. DOI: 10.26694/pensando.v13i30.13783. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufpi.br/index.php/pensando/article/view/4032. Acesso em: 28 mar. 2024.