The Bishop Emeritus of Saint Denis very humbly claims that he was merely a voice to express the words whose author was Monsignor Jean-Marie Lustiger.
Following an initiative taken by Sammy Ghozlan, President of the Jewish Communities of the city of Saint Denis and CRIF representative for the district, CRIF and its local branch paid tribute in Drancy to the voice that had broken the guilty silence and led to an even stronger commitment to bring Jews and Roman Catholics together.
Monsignor Berranger, in his acceptance speech, spoke of his pleasure at seeing more brotherly relations develop between Jews and Catholics, but he did not avoid mentioning the tensions of centuries past arising from mutual contempt and regretted the still perceptible influence of anti-Semitism harking back to the pre-war days of Maurras.
President of CRIF Richard Prasquier underlined the importance of the declaration of repentance by France’s bishops which brought to light the role, not of individuals, but of institutions, thus giving a spiritual echo to the words spoken by President Chirac two years earlier. He concluded by saying he was proud of the Church in France today, and of its great thinkers of former times whose presence is still felt today, such as Charles Peguy and Jacques Maritain.
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