France–Holy See relations

France - Holy See relations

France	Holy See

Holy See–France relations are very ancient and have existed since the 5th century, and have been durable to the extent that France is sometimes called the eldest daughter of the Church (fille aînée de l'Église in French).

Areas of cooperation between Paris and the Holy See have traditionally included education, health care, the struggle against poverty and international diplomacy. Before the establishment of the welfare state, Church involvement was evident in many sectors of French society. Today, Paris's international peace initiatives are often in line with those of the Holy See, who favors dialogue on a global level.

The first Council of Orléans officially sealed a long-lasting alliance between the papacy and the monarchy. The Carolingians strongly enforced these laws for centuries, but they often took it to themselves to name bishops and control church activities.

The Gregorian reform was successfully imposed on France. Boniface VIII had a bitter dispute with Philip the Fair over the temporal power of the pope. These divisions eventually led to the Western Schism, which was only resolved after the end of the Avignon papacy. Unresolved controversies from that schismatic period led to the wars of religion, in which the Catholic side ultimately prevailed in France.

Gallicanism played a major role in the period following the Council of Trent. The kings of France had a near monopoly on the nomination of bishops and it was difficult to apply all the decisions of Trent because of this. Louis XIV was a major patron of the church and was generally opposed to granting privileges to Protestants.

Disputes between jesuits and jansenists had pope Clement XI intervene in church affairs with the bull Unigenitus of 1713 in order to resolve controversies over grace.

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