French politicos and journalists are hot under the collar because of a new book with the provocative title The Vatican Against France. Its author: Protestant François Mejan, onetime (1946-50) head of the French Interior Ministry's Direction des Cultes (which keeps a discreet watch on the activities of all religious groups in France). The book's thesis: the Roman Catholic Church is undermining France's prestige and power in her colonies, especially Africa, by setting up a native clergy instead of depending on French missionaries.
The cross and the flag were once good partners, Mejan maintains, but the Vatican dramatically switched its policy in 1951...