Editing Pope Pius XI (section)

=== Relations with France ===
France's republican government had long been anti-clerical, and much of the French Catholic Church anti-republican. The [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State]] had expelled many religious orders from France, declared all Church buildings to be government property, and had led to the closure of most Church schools. Since that time Pope Benedict XV had sought a rapprochement, but it was not achieved until the reign of Pope Pius XI. In ''Maximam gravissimamque'' (1924), many areas of dispute were tacitly settled and a bearable coexistence made possible.<ref>Kenneth Scott Latourette, ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: A History of Christianity in the 19th and 20th Century: Vol 4 The 20th Century In Europe'' (1961) pp 129–53</ref>

In 1926, worried by the agnosticism of its leader [[Charles Maurras]], Pius XI condemned the monarchist movement [[Action Française]]. The Pope also judged that it was folly for the French Church to continue to tie its fortunes to the unlikely dream of a monarchist restoration, and distrusted the movement's tendency to defend the Catholic religion in merely utilitarian and nationalistic terms.<ref>Latourette, ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age'' pp 37–38</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eugen Weber |url=https://archive.org/details/actionfrancaiser0000webe |title=Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth-Century France |publisher=Stanford U.P. |year=1962 |isbn=978-0-8047-0134-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/actionfrancaiser0000webe/page/249 249] |url-access=registration }}</ref> Prior to this, Action Française had operated with the support of a great number of French lay Catholics, such as [[Jacques Maritain]], as well as members of the clergy. Pius XI's decision was strongly criticized by Cardinal [[Louis Billot]] who believed that the political activities of [[Monarchism|monarchist]] Catholics should not be censured by Rome.<ref>TIME Magazine. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125034607/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731030,00.html Billot v. Pope] 3 October 1927</ref> He later resigned from his position as Cardinal, the only man to do so in the twentieth century, which is believed by some to have been the ultimate result of Pius XI's condemnation,<ref name="purple" /> though these claims have been disputed.{{efn|  Action Française claimed Billot's resignation was in direct response to the Pope's censure of their organization,<ref name=purple>{{cite news|title=French Cardinal Resigns Purple to Enter Monastery|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/10/16/101509065.pdf |accessdate=26 March 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=16 October 1927}}</ref> however this narrative contrasts with official statements released by the Holy See, affirming that Billot's relationship with the Pope remained amicable and his reason for resigning was due to his advanced age, which was 81.<ref>{{cite news|title=Say Cardinal Resigned over French Paper Ban|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/09/21/119073467.pdf |accessdate=26 March 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=21 September 1927}}</ref> According to Church officials, Billot had only an academic interest in Action Française.<ref name=purple/>}} Pius XI's successor, Pope Pius XII, repealed the papal ban on the group in 1939, once again allowing Catholics to associate themselves with the movement.<ref>Friedländer, Saul. ''Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution'', 1997, New York: HarperCollins, p. 223</ref> However, despite Pius XII's actions to rehabilitate the group, ''Action Française'' ultimately never recovered to their former status.