THE CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE AND THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS - THE COMMITMENT OF LYONNAIS THEOLOGIANS, 1941-1942

As of 1941, the persecution of the Jews prompted a movement of protest and solidarity in certain catholic circles of Lyon, a movement that i ncreased during the Summer 1942. Certain aspects of this movement are already known: the battle of the clandestine Cahiers du Temoignage chr etien against antisemitism, the activity of the :Christian fellowship' ', and the attitude of cardinal Gerlier, Lyons' archbishop. After 1941 , other Lyonnais theologians, notable the Sulpician Louis Richard, par ticipated in the fight against antisemitism by covertly distributing p ublications. By analyzing several of these tests, written between June 1941 and October 1942, the author explains how catholic theologians p rogressively freed themselves from traditional antisemitism when deali ng with such questions as the ''mystery of Israel'' or the ''Jewish qu estion''.