tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531248303954963098.post4326215751128794451..comments2024-01-16T18:30:41.436-06:00Comments on The Badger Catholic: Mary, Help of Christians, ora pro nobis!Badger Catholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05389147035157025445noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531248303954963098.post-81762063202904142642013-05-25T05:43:36.854-05:002013-05-25T05:43:36.854-05:00Not saying Napoleon didn't do a lot of bad thi...Not saying Napoleon didn't do a lot of bad things (heck he did kidnap the Pope, get excommunicated, and invaded a lot of countries) but not sure if he should get the tag of one of the "most wicked" men in history without the caveat that unlike a lot of the other villains of history, he did repent. <br /><br />In his public life he sort of ranged from nominal Catholic to surprisingly "modern" indifferent and pragmatic agnostic but he never really got on board with the more militant atheist side of the French Revolution and his taking power was probably a best case scenario for France in the late 1790s, (without intensive foreign intervention the Bourbon monarchy just was not coming back.) Napoleon basically had to cut a deal (concordat) with the Church which again, while not ideal, wasn't terrible. Also Napoleon did appreciate the liturgy and ceremony of the Church as well as its positive role in society. During his second exile he became more devout (according to some accounts he even made rather inspiring and fascinating statements about his reborn Catholic faith in debates with Atheist friends) and he certainly declared himself a Catholic in his last will and testament, left a large ammount of money to the Church, and received the last Rites from his chaplain. <br /><br />Both among his supporters and detractors there was a need to downplay any Catholic aspects of his life (especially his later life) for posterity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com