At the end of the midday office of the Saint-Léon Church, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, the Catholic faithful do not all know yet for whom they will vote in the second round of the presidential election. Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen? As in 2017, the episcopate does not give a precise indication for the second round of the presidential election. A call to vote “consciously”but not more.
The Conference of Bishops of France is content, Wednesday, April 13, to invite the faithful to vote “in the light of the Gospel”. But Philippine would have liked to have more precise indications from the bishops of France and its president. “I will not make a value judgment by saying that it is a lack of courage, no”, explains the retiree. But she adds that the Catholic faithful are “very attentive to what Monsignor says of Moulins-Beaufort and the other bishops, and we need clear positions”.
But in front of the Saint-Léon church, this absence of instructions suits most of the faithful of this parish. For them, fortunately the bishops do not go further. Emmanuel Schwab is the parish priest: “I don’t need a dad who tells me what to do. I have the whole tradition of the Church that enlightens me, so that’s enough for me to know what I want to do” he summarizes.
For many of those parishioners who have a drink and share an Easter bun as they leave the church, it will not be an Emmanuel Macron vote. The PMA for all went badly, as did the announcement of a reform on the right to die with dignity. “For me, on major societal issues, his answer does not satisfy me”, explains France, 54, who works for the parish.
“We are already hearing about euthanasia, personally I am totally against it. There is the question of extending abortion. For me it will not be a Macron vote, that’s for sure.”
An Emmanuel Macron vote which does not please either Jean, a 75-year-old deacon, any more than a Marine Le Pen vote. “A France curled up on itself scares me, the fear of foreigners and immigration scares me too. For the moment I don’t know yet what I’m going to do”, he summarizes. Many say they are tempted by the blank vote. But many, like France, are also hesitant to turn to the Marine Le Pen bulletin. “Welcoming migrants is part of our Christian charity and it is important. Afterwards, under what conditions do we welcome them? If it is so that they live like wretches…”
According to an Ifop poll for the newspaper The cross released on Monday, Catholics voted far right more than the country as a whole. Marine Le Pen, Éric Zemmour and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan winning 40% of their votes.
“It is important for the Bishops’ Conference not to seek to clericalize the vote, indicates Matthieu Rougé, bishop of Nanterre and member of the permanent council of the Conference of Bishops of France. We believe that citizens, Catholic or not, are able to make a choice in conscience.”
On the other hand,“we recall the ethical points of attention that seem important to us to bear in mind”, specifies the bishop of Nanterre. Among these points: “unconditional respect for all human life, beginning and ending life, the question of euthanasia”, “integration of disabled people”, “ecological concern” or “the reception of migrants, refugees in particular”.