L’inconscient au paradis: Comment les catholiques ont reçu la psychoanalyse (1920–1965) (review)

In this significant work Agnes Desmazieres traces the ways in which some of the leading mid-twentieth century Catholic European intellectuals and professionals struggled to find a place in Catholic thought for the emerging psychological constructs about the unconscious. Written in the style of a European monograph, the author guides the reader through a terrain of cultural clashes as Catholic scholars encountered theories of the unconscious, most notably expressed by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and Carl Jung’s “depth psychology.” Desmaizières’s frequent use of subheadings proves invaluable as she presents a series of controversies that illuminate the seeking of Catholics proponents for a foothold for the unconscious.

The book’s historical overview offers a who’s who of mid-twentieth-century Catholic European intellectuals. Desmazières, for example, mentions the contributions by such clerical leaders as Louis Beirnaert (French Jesuit psychoanalyst), Bruno de Jésus Marie (French Carmelite psychoanalyst/theologian), Agostino Gemelli (Italian Franciscan psychologist), André Godin (Belgian Jesuit psychoanalyst), Grégoire Lemercier (Benedictine abbot), Marc Oraison (priest/physician/theologian), Albert Plé (French Dominican psychologist/theologian), and Victor White (British Dominican theologian).

Desmazières also mentions the influence of lay Catholic thinkers such as Rudolf Allers (Austrian philosopher), Marcy Choisy (French novelist and psychoanalyst), Roland Dalbiez (French philosopher), Joseph Nuttin (Belgian psychologist), and Anna A.A. Terruwe (Dutch psychiatrist). In addition, important North American contributions to the discussion by Leo Bartemeier (American psychoanalyst), Noël Mailloux (French Canadian Dominican, psychoanalyst), and Gregory Zilboorg (Russian American psychoanalyst) are referenced.

For the purposes of revealing the Church’s ambivalence toward psychoanalysis, Desmazières discusses the influence of Gemelli in various parts of her text. The founder of Sacred Heart University in Milan, Gemelli wielded considerable influence with Popes Pius XI and Pius XII. His Thomistic training made him suspicions of both the scientism of Italian medical materialism and the reductionism of Freud’s theories.

Not surprisingly, Pius XII figures prominently in the debates that the Church had with psychoanalysis. Desmazières describes the pontiff as someone sympathetic to depth psychology, an approach to the unconscious less hostile to religion than orthodox psychoanalysis. The pope was no doubt aware of the important distinction developed by Dalbiez between psychoanalytical theory and its methods.

Desmazières also considers the Church’s suspicions toward some of the works of Choisy, Oraison, Terruwe, and White. Her recounting of such criticisms reminds one of the authoritarian spirit that pervaded the Church throughout the era.

Desmazières deems significant the 1953 International Congress of Psychotherapy in Rome where Pius XII declared his support of psychotherapy. Among other notable events, the author notes the beginning of psychological testing for religious candidates by Plé. Building upon the work of the American priest-psychologists Thomas Verner Moore and William Bier, Plé promoted psychological testing for aspirants to religious life and helped to engender psychological supports for religious. Plé’s influence led to the incorporation of psychological training for theological students. Aspects of such training were psychoanalytically oriented, which in effect represented a significant step toward accepting psychoanalytical processes by the Catholic magisterium.

In some places, more detail would have been welcomed about how moral theological principles clashed with Freud’s psychoanalytical theories and Jung’s analytic constructs. Also desirable would have been some appreciation of how psychoanalysis evolved through the decades and thus made it more palatable for Catholic tastes.

Overall, this book represents an important contribution to the historical literature of the Church’s relationship with the unconscious. One hopes that Desmaizières’s presentation will one day be available to an English-reading audience. Indeed, given the present-day controversies over clergy sexual abuse, historical accounts such as those offered in this book add valuable perspectives of how the Church has promoted and prevented a greater understanding of the forces residing in the unconscious.