Bishop's invisible diocese of the poor, the persecuted and the downtrodden

IN other times, Monsignor Jacques Gaillot might have been burned as a heretic. The former Bishop of Evreux in Normandy is always on the side of the poor and downtrodden.

More unpalatable for Rome, he says the church should understand - not judge - those who divorce, have abortions or become homosexuals. The Vatican, Mgr Gaillot told me in his spartan Paris headquarters, is "the last monarchy in Europe", and it must change.

Such language led Pope John Paul II to summon Mgr Gaillot to Rome in January 1995. The Pope demanded the defiant bishop's resignation; when Gaillot refused, the Pope had him transferred to Partenia, a now defunct diocese in the Algerian desert.

Mgr Gaillot would eventually turn Partenia into an Internet web site - the world's first virtual diocese. He met the Pope again 11 months after his "revocation".

"I even made him laugh," Mgr Gaillot (61) recalled: "He told me the bishops said I was too much in the media, and I said, `I'm just trying to imitate you, Holy Father'."

Two-thirds of the French population opposed his dismissal, and 10,000 attended his farewell homily. Mgr Gaillot went straight from Evreux toe join homeless squatters in a Paris building. Then he was arrested when French security forces took over a Greenpeace ship protesting against nuclear tests in the South Pacific.

Last summer, he joined illegal African immigrants when they occupied a church in Paris. Most recently, he led protest marches against the Debre law on immigration.

The French parliament will definitively adopt the Debre law on March 26th, and Mgr Gaillot is indignant. "It is repressive. It dishonours our country and hurts our image abroad," he said. The law rendered foreigners suspect, put them in a precarious position and made them despair.

To those who say that a man of religion should not meddle in politics, Mgr Gaillot replies bluntly: "The word politics has a positive connotation for me. Politics means living together, the common good. Everything has a political dimension. If you're talking about housing, school, foreigners, the solutions can only be political, and I think a clearly defined commitment is an extension of faith."

The Vatican's disciplinary action made him an eveque du parvis - a bishop on the porch of the church - Mgr Gaillot said. His words conjure up the medieval cathedral of Notre Dame, and Victor Hugo's novel.

"The wind blows, it rains," Mgr Gaillot laughed. "There are acrobats and miracle plays, crowds, tramps - everybody. It is an interesting situation for a bishop. Partenia is everywhere because it cannot be found."

Sister Edith, the computer buff who oversees the Partenia web site (e-mail address: http//:www.partenia.org.) reports 205,000 "hits" by 70,000 visitors last year. A network of volunteers runs the site in French, English and Italian.

This year, Mgr Gaillot decided to write a monthly catechism. "People said, why a catechism? - This word brings up bad memories," he said. "I told them that in ancient Greek, `catechism' means `to echo'. I said we must come back to the original meaning - to echo what people are living."

Mgr Gaillot's electronic catechism lessons have addressed the themes of exclusion and suffering, violence, and how to be a Christian today. France was once called the "eldest daughter of the Church", yet fewer than 10 per cent of French Catholics regularly attend Mass.

"Many people have been disappointed by the Church," Mgr Gaillot said. "It has been far too authoritarian. People have the feeling they are excluded, not listened to. Many Christians walked out on their tip-toes."

Disgusted by the nomination of what Mgr Gaillot calls "completely intolerable bishops", an Austrian Catholic has drawn up a five-point "Petition of Christian People" calling for a "fraternal" church where all believers are equal - including men and women - where clergy can choose between celibacy or conjugal life, where those who practice birth control, pre-marital sex or homo sexual relations are not condemned, and where the Church refrains from threatening people in difficulty.

Mgr Gaillot said he rejoices in the success of this petition, which has been signed by 3 million Catholics around the world. "The people of God are ahead of the church leaders," he added.