La belle époque des juristes catholiques(1880-1914)

An ineluctable minimum of natural law François Gény, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the limits of legal skepticism

“…Religious tensions were mixed with a larger sense of disorientation, a full-blown ''modernist crisis.'' 54 In this context, Gé ny felt compelled to defend natural law more systematically, as he continued to walk the tight-rope of compromise between stability and evolution, tradition and modernization, faith and reason.…”

“…Catholic modernizers such as Saleilles pushed for a strict separation between the theological and legal spheres, 51 while more conservative jurists argued for a specifically Catholic reading of the Code civil. 52 Both sides fought for Gé ny's allegiance, but wherever a particular jurist came down, Catholic culture and legal culture were so intertwined that Fré dé ric Audren has seen fit to describe this period as the ''Belle é poque des juristes catholiques.'' 53 The pressure on Catholic jurists was heightened by the unfolding dynamics of secularization in the Third Republic.…”

“…52 Both sides fought for Gé ny's allegiance, but wherever a particular jurist came down, Catholic culture and legal culture were so intertwined that Fré dé ric Audren has seen fit to describe this period as the ''Belle é poque des juristes catholiques.'' 53 The pressure on Catholic jurists was heightened by the unfolding dynamics of secularization in the Third Republic. The 1905 law enforcing a strict separation of Church and State led to mass riots in the streets of Paris and other cities.…”