The enthusiasm for Pope John Paul II that I have expressed in the last two blog posts is apparently not shared by a French court, which has ordered the town of Ploëmel, France to take down its statue of John Paul II under France’s 1905 law establishing laïcité. The statue quotes the former pope’s motto, “Be not afraid.” The court, it seems, would have the good citizens of Ploëmel be afraid — of its jurisdiction.
By Daniel Philpott