One of the most influential progressivist mentors of Vatican II was Fr. Yves Congar, O.P., made a Cardinal by John Paul II in 1994. In his book The Catholic Church and Modern France, he launched an attack against the honor of the Church, criticizing her as she was before Vatican II.
At right is the front cover of Eglise Catholique & France Moderne; at right below, a photocopy of the French text. Below1, we present our translation of the lines highlighted in yellow.
In Him [the Incarnate Word] God revealed Himself as a servant, the one in whom love gives itself, thus breaking the chain of needs and interests. The saints are the only true Christians: 'Our Church is the Church of the Saints.'
However, she was not always such. She was not completely like this. She is only this: She carries her treasure in clay vases, and at times with filthy hands.
While bringing a message of truth and liberty, it has happened that she was tyrannical and alienating.
At times she acted in the public sphere producing an oppressive sentiment of guilt like that felt by an individual.
(Yves Congar, Eglise Catholique & France Moderne, Paris: Hachette, 1978, p. 171).
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