The canonisation of Blessed Charles de Foucauld is bothering some historians. They say his legacy is tied too closely to French colonialism in Algeria where he was murdered in 1916.
In May, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said a miracle had been attributed to the intercession of Blessed Charles, enabling his canonization to go forward.
But not all historians are pleased with the news about the man known as the “universal brother.”
“The canonization of Charles de Foucauld would be a denial of history,” wrote Professor Ladji Ouattara in the July 2 edition of Le Monde.
His work would be “inseparable from the colonial conquest of the Sahara”.
Ouattara cited the works of a number historians, such as Jean-Marie Muller, who in 2002 denounced “the deep nationalist and colonialist convictions of this Saharan hermit who defended a total war against Germany during the Great War”.
Quattara noted others, including Hélène Claudot-Hawad had condemned de Foucauld’s “direct involvement in colonial military operations against the rebel tribes” in Algeria and André Bourgeot had criticizedhis “ideas in favor of a disorganization of the Tuareg socio-political structures”.
Ouattara, also claimed de Foucauld “personally took part in several military tours … to establish the submission of the Tuaregs of Hoggar and to get a tax accepted that would be a tangible mark of this submission”.
Bishop-emeritus Claude Rault of Laghouat (Algeria) rejected that claim.
“Charles de Foucauld’s aim was not to directly take part in a military operation, but to use it to extend his knowledge of the Tuareg world,” Rault says.
“He had no other way to do this than to rely on these expeditions.”
John Paul II moved de Foucault’s sainthood cause forward in 2001 by declaring him “venerable”.
Four years later Benedict XVI decreed de Foucauld had died as a martyr and approved his beatification.
After verifying the miracle, Pope Francis is to declare him a saint.
Quattara says de Foucauld’s canonisation would likely appear “dissonant” in the current context of dismantling colonialist figures.
But Rault says de Foucauld never stopped “denouncing the exactions of a colonisation that consisted in appropriating the great Algerian south to the detriment of the Tuareg people and culture”.
Moreover, de Foucauld’s French-Touareg dictionary remains an essential reference to this day, and his “vision of colonisation was always humanized and humanistic,” the bishop says.
He claims de Foucauld often asked “that Tuareg leaders be taken into consideration and that certain political powers be entrusted to them.
“His love for the Tuareg people has always prevailed,” Rault insists.
He admits “it would be healthy for the Church to reveal to the general public all the grey areas: it is time to tell the limits of this man who has been so hallowed”.
“But even though Charles de Foucauld did not succeed in everything in his life, holiness is not the same as perfection,” Rault says.
Source
- La Croix
- Image: The Catholic Weekly
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