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Dear Father Angelo,

I would ask you why Father Sertillanges’ Catechism for non-believers is called that way.

I read a very small excerpt you reported in your column, and I really liked it. It dealt with the particular judgment.

It is very beautiful for its “realistic and convincing” way to talk about.

What does the rest of the book talk about? Is everything so realistically done?

If so, I will definitely take it!

I thank you.

The Priest’s answer

Dear,

1. before overviewing the Catechism for non-believers, I think a brief biographical profile of the author is appropriate.

Antonin-Gilbert Sertillanges was born in Clermont Ferrand, France, in 1863.

After his first education from the Brothers of the Christian schools, he met the order of Saint Dominic for the first time in the person of Father Ollivier, who was preaching in that city.

He entered the Dominican order on September 8th, 1883, in Spain because of repeated suppressions of religious orders by various French political regimes. He was given the name Fra Antonin Dalmace.

Then, sent to Corsica to the convent of Corbara to attend the Order’s philosophical and theological studies, he had two great young Dominicans as teachers: Fathers Ambroise Gardeil and Pierre-Felix Mandonnet.

During this period of his education, Sertilllanges was fascinated by the doctrine of Saint Thomas and by his power of persuasion.

His teaching activity in various institutions of the Order and the Church began immediately after his priestly ordination in 1888.

At the same time, his skills established him as a preacher.

2. In one famous sermon of his, preached in the presence of Cardinal Amette, Archbishop of Paris, and a crowd of listeners, he criticized the Benedict XV’s Note for the belligerent peoples (2017, August 1st), which appeared pro-Austrian to French people.

The cardinal and the whole crowd agreed with Father Sertillanges’ assertions.

But that intervention was unwelcome in Rome. The cardinal had to suffer and Father Sertillanges was deprived of preaching.

3. (Tr.) “Cardinal Gasparri, Secretary of State, asked for the most severe punishments for Father Sertillanges.

Ultimately the Roman authorities agreed to wait for the war to end. Once over, Gasparri declared to the rector of the Institut Catholique: ‘We must choose the first favorable opportunity to remove Father Sertillanges from the Institut Catholique, even if we have to wait another year or two to avoid irritating public opinion.’

Cardinals Bisleti, Billot and Mary del Val had the same opinion.

Envied for his successes as a teacher, denigrated because of his private life (en: after repeated suppressions he was living in an apartment which somebody considered too luxurious), condemned by Rome for his overly enthusiastic patriotism, in 1922 he was relieved of his teaching position after the death of Cardinal Amette (1920) and that of Benedict XV (1922).

Exiled first to Jerusalem… he returned to Europe to a Dutch Dominican convent and later to Belgium.

In 1939, the intervention of the Master of the order, M.-S. Gillet, at Pius XII, put an end to the exile of Father Sertillanges.

The latter had accepted his trial with patience and without murmuring, but not without great moral suffering.

He returned to Paris old and physically exhausted to dedicate himself with all his strength to an intellectual apostolate based on preaching, and to Thomistic apologetics in dialogue with modern culture” (A. Laffay, [tr.] Presentation of the Catechism of Non-believers, pp. 8-9).

On July 26th, 1948, he died at the age of 85.

4. In Catechism, Father Sertillanges takes up the themes previously addressed in various works of his.

But, (tr.) “compared to those works, Catechism offers the advantage of the simple and pedagogical arguing by questions and answers.

An anonymous man, a man of good will, the non-believer of his work’s title, asks the questions and Father Sertillanges answers without evading the difficulties. All that might seem artificial: however, the dialogue is successful.

Two aspects contribute: first, the asked questions are concrete, starting with the first one: ‘are we obliged to inform ourselves about the existence of God?’

Then, Sertillanges does not avoid difficulties and, besides questions, he also adds objections to his concepts in the mouth of his interlocutor.

Invited to recite the Our Father before the whole discussion, the non-believer objects that he cannot pray like that yet” (Ib., p.12).

5. (Tr.) So, – the father says – say this other prayer: the Our Father of the unbeliever.

Our Father, if you exist, I do not dare to call on you.

If you exist, your name is Holy; let it be hallowed.

If you exist, your kingdom is order, and your splendor too: your kingdom come.

If you exist, your will is the law of worlds and of souls: your will be done in all of us and in everything, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us, if you exist, our daily bread, the bread of truth, the bread of wisdom, the bread of joy, the supersubstantial bread that is promised to those who can recognize it.

If you exist, I have committed great sins afore you: deign to forgive me my trespasses, as I heartily forgive those who trespass against me.

For the future, do not lead me to temptation, but deliver me from evil” ([tr.] Catechism for non-believers, p. 19).

6. (Tr.) “To achieve a true dogmatic synthesis, the author followed very closely the sequence that St. Thomas offers in the first part and third part of the Theological Summa.

The central part of Aquinas’ work, that is the question of Christian action, morality, is the most neglected. Sertillanges’ purpose is clear: Christianity is not a moral, a way of life, it is an involvement of the whole being which requires the consent by intellect and will.

Man will conform his actions to the evangelic moral only if he has previously adhered to the Christian faith.

This work deals precisely with this preliminary condition” (Ib., p. 13).

7. The presenter of the latest edition of Catechism for non-believers, A. Laffay, notes some gaps: (tr.) “The person of Jesus Christ seems little present; the Holy Scripture is little cited; abounds with references to modern authors. That is, it neither directly places the interlocutor facing the cross, the mystery of Christ, nor directly calls for the use of Scripture.

Rather, it assumes to place oneself at the interlocutor’s level, with the certainty – based on reason – that neither man nor the world could exist if God did not exist” (Ib., p.13).

But one should not forget that it is an apologetic, persuasive and convincing work for non-believers, and not only for those who already adhere to Christ.

8. On the back cover, by the Dominican studio editions of Bologna, we read: (tr.) “This singular catechism is a close and passionate dialogue between a believer and a non-believer about the rational and historical foundations of the Christian faith.

Here are the main themes: existence of God; providence; the mystery of the trinity and creation; about original sin and incarnation, salvation, and grace; the church; the sacraments; death and immortality; judgment; hell, heaven, and purgatory.

Even the most difficult and thorny issues are addressed with great clarity and candidly.”

I thank you for giving me the opportunity to present this great figure and one of his most successful writings too.

I bless you.

Father Angelo