Posted on 04/18/2007 4:16:31 PM PDT by happygrl
Paris, France (CNSNews.com) - Protestants in France have asked the country's national police intelligence service to explain why it has launched an investigation into evangelical churches.
Pastor Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the French Protestant Federation, told Cybercast News Service he had learned from several member churches that they had been contacted by the police service (the Renseignements Generaux or RG) and asked to pass along any information they had about evangelical churches in their region.
The RG has been sending Protestants a series of questions asking the names of evangelical churches and whether any of their activities might be causing harm.
"It is inadmissible that the RG should investigate evangelical churches," said de Clermont. "It is not part of their national mandate -- their mandate is to fight terrorism, prevent urban violence and other national threats against French society.
"The evangelical churches are not part of their mandate -- unless they are associated with terrorism," he added.
Legal investigations into French churches that may have disturbed public order would generally be handled by local prefects.
The RG is known in France for its surveillance operations and crackdowns on suspected terrorists.
According to the federation, government officials in France had long viewed evangelical churches with suspicion.
A year ago, government investigators asked hospital administrators to provide information on any religious-related matter involving patients that may be of importance. The hospital heads were specifically asked about Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses and evangelicals, but not about Catholics.
Some 80 percent of people in France are Catholics, while the remainder of the population includes Muslims (about 10 percent), Protestants (2.2 percent) and Jews (1 percent). According to a census several years ago, Protestant numbers have grown by some 10 percent over the past 15 years, the growth coming mostly from evangelical churches, including Baptist, Pentecostal and small independent denominations.
The Protestant Federation said it has also been examining instances where local authorities have repeatedly set up hurdles stopping evangelicals from building or enlarging houses of worship.
Federation officials can only guess at the reasons for the RG starting an investigation into evangelical churches.
De Clermont said it could be related to a fear that evangelicals may provoke trouble or that their members may not be real members of French Protestant churches. Evangelical churches are even sometimes viewed as sects.
There is also speculation that the investigation may be related to a crackdown on illegal immigration. Many of France's evangelicals are Africans.
"There is such an ignorance of religions by these officials that it is hard to guess why they've launched this investigation," said de Clermont. "That's why we've reacted so vigorously and immediately."
The Protestant Federation's spokeswoman, Myriam Delarbre, also believes that because France is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, other religions are viewed with suspicion.
Delarbre said she regularly receives phone calls from police investigators asking her to evaluate certain evangelical churches.
"The French state would like us to say which are good and which are bad, but we don't want to enter in that game," she said.
"We tell the police that members of the Protestant Federation are part of it because they want to work together and because they want to speak about Jesus together," she added. "But if they are not members, it does not mean they are not good. The state would like us to be their police."
Suspicions have also allegedly increased because of anti-U.S. sentiment, she said. Media reports of evangelical ties to the Bush presidency arouse concerns because such links would be considered unacceptable under the French secular system.
"We tell them that French evangelicals are not the same as American evangelicals," said Delarbre, adding that Americans tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves, while the French are more "Cartesian" (logical, rational).
"A lot of American evangelicals who come to France end up leaving because the French are too Cartesian to accept their beliefs."
De Clermont has told the members of the Protestant Federation that they are not obligated to respond to RG investigators. He has yet to receive a response from the police service about the concerns he has raised.
A spokeswoman for the RG told Cybercast News Service on Friday that it does not wish to communicate on the subject.
Ping to your European list.
Why?
The answer seems pretty obvious to me. They don’t have freedom of religion in France.
Because they're too much cheese eating surrender monkeys to go after the Islamofascists burning their cities?
Must be checking for suicide belt bombs.
LOL! Apparently they're a bit more pretentious, too...At least one of them is anyway.
I think it has more to do with the fact that the evangelicals won't follow you home and firebomb your garage.
The catholic churches in France are as dead as the stones they are made from.
Most likely being forced into it by the muslims.
The Mu-slimes are laughing as the Catholics and Protestants turn on each other. In the Middle East, Sunnis and Shiites are fighting each other, but sadly, in France, the Muslims seem pretty united.
Have long felt the French were amongst the first westerners to overtly side with globalist goals.
Interesting who satan’s stooges attack first and foremost.
Maybe they've been told not to investigate muslims because that would be seen as "intolerant".
Agree on both points.
Thanks thanks.
Affirmation is much appreciated.
The resident ‘kook’ position sometimes gets wearying. LOL.
God’s best to you and yours.
I agree too. But the French only attack easy targets.
You mean like car washes or retreats?
'Cause it's so much safer than investigating radical Islamic mosques? For the investigators that is. For the average Frenchman, not investigating the mosques increases the danger.
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
It's just that the 5-10 percenters are very "visible".
When it comes to Protestants NO ONE in the French government is to be trusted.
"W" should direct our ambassador in Paris to deliver a protest to the President.
These people do not yet constitute a modern state ~ still Medieval, still prone to burning those they decide are witches, blecchhh.
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