The following essay describes an episode in the life of Fr. Henri Lacordaire, O.P., who was a signal influence on the development of Catholic-liberal relations in post-revolutionary France. Together with Charles Montalembert and Fr. Félicité Lamennais, Lacordaire founded a pro-liberal, ultramontane newspaper called L’Avenir.

In 1832, Pope Gregory VII, in the midst of a complicated geo-political moment, condemned L’Avenir; consequently, Lamennais renounced his priesthood and left the Church, convinced that liberalism and Catholicism were incompatible, and choosing liberalism over Catholicism.

Lacordaire insisted that the condemnation was not as stark as it might appear, and he remained in the Church, articulating a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between lay-thinkers and Church authorities and the relationship between sincere Catholics and liberalism. His steadiness ultimately convinced a wavering Montalembert to remain within the Church as well.

For further reading on this topic, I greatly recommend Carol E. Harrison’s masterful book, Romantic Catholics: France’s Postrevolutionary Generation in Search of a Modern Faith.