Dear Monsieur Eyschen
Thank you very much for thinking of me for your October 2025 conference. I was unable to reply immediately, but I will ultimately be unable to attend. However, I would like to clarify the following, which you are welcome to share with conference participants if you wish.
I received your invitation as a desire for dialogue, and please believe me when I say that I regret not being able to respond to it in concrete terms. It seems important to me to broaden our horizons. We cannot remain stuck in the sterile antinomy of ‘clerical-anticlerical.’ This is only valid for the supporters of hardline fundamentalism on both sides. From the moment the clergy in particular distrusts clericalism, as Pope Francis explicitly invites them to do (see Letter to the People of God of 20 August 2018, in which he defines clericalism as a deviant way of conceiving authority in the Church.
He has this powerful phrase: ‘Saying no to abuse means saying no categorically to all forms of clericalism.’ There can be no other path than that of dialogue. It is the higher concept of freedom that allows everyone to unite in respect, dialogue, and esteem. If we stray from this essential principle, we open the door to social hatred, which no one needs.
It was on the basis of this letter that I published my open letter to Cardinal Barbarin, to which the president of La Parole Libérée attached an online petition. It was the popular movement sparked by this appeal to common sense that led Cardinal Barbarin to resign the following year.
I have no regrets about what I did in good conscience at the time, because we are all made for higher values such as Truth, Justice and Freedom, just as we are all made to breathe the fresh air of the heights.
I wish you all the best in preparing for your conference. Please accept my respectful greetings to you and each member. With my best wishes for the success of your work.
P. Pierre Vignon
