Cleric denies baptism to NF activist

A FRENCH bishop has refused to baptise an activist of the far- right National Front because he says the party's racial politics are contrary to the values of Christianity.

The decision - a first in France - is likely to cause a storm between the liberal and traditional wings of the French Catholic church.

The NF activist, Joel David, a member of the party's security service, says he intends to write to the Pope to appeal against the bishop's decision.

"The bishop has punished me without even knowing me," said Mr David, 47, a baker and producer of foie gras in Moulins in the west of France, who felt the call of the Church while on a visit to Lourdes.

Monseigneur Albert Rouet, the bishop of Poitiers, says he is prepared to meet Mr David face to face and that the church is always ready to receive a sinner who repents. "I explained to this baptismal candidate that the ideology of the National Front is contrary to the message of Christ and the Church," he said.

"But I did not close the door completely. I urged him to consider his position and choose between the Christian faith and his political ideas."

One implication of Msgr Rouet's decision is that all National Front supporters - who include many people who regard themselves as exceptionally good Catholics - are outside the teaching of the Church and should not receive Communion.

The French Church, while declining to criticise the bishop's decision, refused to go down this route. "Every French Catholic is free to belong to the party of his choice," said Monseigneur Louis-Marie Bille, president of the French conference of bishops. However, he added: "Our role as bishops is to guide consciences. It is not inconceivable that a bishop should find the ethical and spiritual implications of a political commitment incompatible with access to the sacrament."

Abbe Christian Bouchacourt, a Lefebvriste priest in Paris, said: "The bishops have never shown such rigour towards Communists, Freemasons or abortion activists. Let them tell us how the National Front is in breach of the Ten Commandments.

"There is nothing in the catechism which forbids national preference. The NF, although not perfect, defends the values of natural law." (National preference is one of the NF code phrases for discrimination against immigrants).

Mr Bouchacourt accused the bishop of breaking down the boundaries between church and state. Asked whether he would baptise an avowed Communist, the Abbe replied: "Marxism is a denial of God ... A Communist activist would have to renounce his political convictions before he could receive baptism."

The Bishop of Poitiers first made his views known to Mr David 18 months ago but the decision has only just been made public. It was immediately denounced by ultra- traditional Catholic followers of the late archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who have been in schism with Rome since 1976. The Lefebvristes and other extreme traditionalist Catholics form one of the principal tributaries of support for the National Front, which claims to stand for the values of flag, family and church.