Yvon Beaudoin describes an example of the effects of the liberal movement on an Oblate priest, Andr\u00e9 Valentin, in Aix :<\/p>\n
In the course of the struggle for freedom of education in 1828, the university students held a demonstration against the Jesuits. One evening when Father Andr\u00e9 was going home from visiting the hospital, he was met by a party of demonstrators who were shouting: \u201cHang the missionaries to the nearest lamppost, etc.\u201d He told Abb\u00e9 Bicheron what he had experienced and heard. Abb\u00e9 Bicheron reported the incident in the conservative newspaper, La Quotidienne. The chief commissioner of Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne wrote Father de Mazenod asking him to assign Father Andr\u00e9 elsewhere. The Founder proved that Father Andr\u00e9\u2019s account was well grounded in fact and that he would be retained at his post of prison chaplain. July 21, 1828, the Founder wrote, \u201cIn my books, it is the executioners and not the victims who should be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.omiworld.org\/en\/dictionary\/historical-dictionary_vol-1_a\/544\/andr-daniel-valentin\/<\/a><\/p>\n Eugene continued in his defense of Fr Andr\u00e9 by responding to the Prefect:<\/p>\n Undoubtedly impressed by this dressing-down, the prefect apologized for having been a mere mouthpiece for the mayor of Aix, and beat a hasty retreat: \u201cSince you think that this priest should remain where he is, I shall abide by your prudent decision.\u201d<\/p>\n This victory must surely have confirmed the conviction which the Founder and his uncle had so often expressed; one gains each time one refuses to make the least concession.<\/p>\n Leflon 2 page 303<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yvon Beaudoin describes an example of the effects of the liberal movement on an Oblate priest, Andr\u00e9 Valentin, in Aix : In the course of the struggle for freedom of education in 1828, the university students held a demonstration against … Continue reading \n
Doubting his word under pretext that he is timorous is no more reasonable than claiming\u2026 that the city of Aix was in complete insurrection because a few scamps made a racket on leaving the tavern. To demand that he be disciplined because he was insulted, and this, on his return from a deathbed\u2026 that, Monsieur, is atrociousness infinitely more outrageous than the insults themselves. And so, my dear Count, I answer with my well known frankness that if Father Andr\u00e9 belonged to the diocese where I have some jurisdiction, not only would I not think that he should be assigned elsewhere, but I would do everything in my power to see that reparation was made for the harassment to which he was subjected; in my book, it is the tormentors and not the victims who are to be punished.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n