From the moment that Eugene set foot in Marseille as the Vicar General of his uncle, he began to suffer. The diocese had been vacant for two decades, and so there was a lot of reform to be undertaken. This involved stepping on the toes of people who had established their comfort zones and were unwilling to change for the greater good of the diocese. Bishop Fortun\u00e9 was an old man, and while he made all the decisions it was up to Eugene and Tempier to put them into practice \u2013 sometimes at great personal cost. Three days after their arrival in the city, Eugene wrote to Court\u00e8s in Aix<\/p>\n
\nI will not launch into a chapter of regrets and sorrows, it would be unending. Marseilles might have been too much to bear for me if they had seen me coming with a favorable eye and if they had rendered me the justice I know is mine; you can imagine what it must be when I consider that Lucifer would not have been more damnable, if he had come to take away their souls…<\/strong><\/h5>\n
But do not believe that his uproar intimidates me nor everything with which they threaten me. It is to the Princes, to the King, to the Pope that they want to write; the liberals have already done this. All this noise is made in support of three priests, I almost say three rebellious ones.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Hippolyte Court\u00e8s, 13 August 1823, EO VI n. 112<\/em><\/p>\n
Yvon Beaudoin explains the background to this letter<\/p>\n
M. Rodet and the Missionaries of France established at Marseilles had campaigned against the nomination of Bishop Fortun\u00e9 de Mazenod. He, after having consulted M. l\u2019abb\u00e9 Jean Marie de la Mennais, Vicar General of the Grand Almoner, asked M. Rauzan to recall his missionaries. On the entry of the new Bishop to his diocese, Sunday, August 10th, the Missionaries of France were still there and some of their supporters engaged in public demonstrations against him. Their resentment was especially against Father de Mazenod whom they held responsible for the measures taken by Bishop Fortun\u00e9, even if in reality it was the personal decision of the latter to proceed thus.<\/em> (Footnote 2 in EO VI n. 112)<\/p>\n
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“You get used to the rejection and you don’t take it personally.” \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Daniel Craig<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From the moment that Eugene set foot in Marseille as the Vicar General of his uncle, he began to suffer. The diocese had been vacant for two decades, and so there was a lot of reform to be undertaken. This … Continue reading