[Holy See] Communique to France

[Ender]

(Secret and written entirely in French)

Unto: Florence Mangin, French Ambassador to the Holy See (Zak)
From: Raymond Cardinal Burke, Secretary of State to His Holiness

Greetings and Blessings,

It is with sadness and hope that I am writing to you this day. His Holiness Hadrianus VII, has expressed to me in our recent private meetings that They are saddened by the recent gulf that has grown between the Holy Mother Church and her First Daughter. They would like to see this schism healed and the Primacy of France Restored. But His Holiness feels that first that which was ungratefully seized by that same First Daughter must freely be returned, as a gesture of good will. For not unlike the prodigal son who demanded his share of his inheritance and squandered it, so too has France taken the Apostolic Palace at Avignon and turned into but a pale shadow of what it once was and could be. His Holiness would like France to commit to a full and complete restoration of the Apostolic Palace of Avignon and afterwards gift it back to the Holy See as an extraterritorial property. In exchange His Holiness shall reaffirm the primacy of France and the French Church by establishing the Palace at Avignon as the seat of the new Regional Patriarch of Europe and utilize it as the Papal Summer retreat, in place of Castel Gandalfo. If this is amicable, or if you’d prefer to negotiate on this, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Yours in our shared and eternal faith,

<Signed>
Raymond Burke
Secretary of State of His Holiness

 

[Alex]

Imperial Office of the Crown of France
Message to the Holy See
Private & Encrypted

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To: Raymond Cardinal Burke, Secretary of State to His Holiness [ Ender ]
From: Jeanne I Bonaparte, Empress of France
CC: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Embassy of France to the Holy See

Your Eminence,

Due to the seriousness of the contents of this message, it has been forwarded to myself and the rest of my government. Therefore, I will be answering in place of my Ambassador, Ms. Mangin.

I would first like to state that I do not appreciate the tone of this message, Your Eminence. In fact, I find it quite aggressive and insulting. It is as though the Holy See is wishing to scold France for a wrong that it did not commit. The Palais des Papes was not turned into a shadow of its former self by France but was neglected by the Papal States themselves, allowing the palace to fall to decay. Since the palace came into French hands during the Napoleonic Wars, France has continued to perform various renovations on the crumbling building in attempts to keep it from falling in on itself, and since 1906 it has become a museum. It will remain a museum. Although, if the Holy See wishes to aid in the funding of its indefinite renovations, we would be most grateful.

For twenty years now, Avignon has been the host of the Archbasilica Cathedral of the Holy Savior of France and Saint Jeanne d'Arc and if His Holiness, Pope Hadrianus VII, ever wishes to visit this center of Franco-Christianity he is most welcomed and will be accommodated as befitting his status. His Holiness, however, will need to find a summer palace elsewhere.

With this said, Your Eminence, the bond between the Holy See and Franco-Christianity is a fragile one and making demands such as these with words such as those benefits no one. I ask that the next time His Holiness contacts myself or my government to do so with respect and professionalism, as should come from someone in his position.

Kindest Regards,
Jeanne I Bonaparte
Empire of France

 

[Ender]

(Secret and written entirely in Latin)

Unto: Florence Mangin, French Ambassador to the Holy See Alex
From: Raymond Cardinal Burke, Secretary of State to His Holiness

Greetings and Blessings,

My Child, I am sorry that you felt that our last communique was “Aggressive & Insulting”, as that was not the tone that was intended in the writing. It was written as an olive branch, a means of giving a boon to France in consideration of its unique status within Christendom. But as we all know nothing in this vale of tears comes free, as such we offered what we would like in exchange for that boon. In response to that you spit in out face and burn that olive branch. Out of respect to you Empress, I have not forwarded your letter to His Holiness, as I personally feel that at out of all Europe, France is the most deserving of this boon. As such I encourage you to rethink your position, or at the very least to rewrite your rather inflammatory letter, for I would not like to see His Holiness respond in kind. Let us not forget that your noble Father’s (May he Rest in Peace) efforts were approved by a different Pope, a Pope who does not throw old men into the streets of Rome naked to fend for themselves. I was on the committee that that negotiated with your Father, and I would like to not see both of our efforts turned to ashes in our mouth. You are young, and youth is nothing if not reactionary, and thus your response is forgivable, and I extend you that absolution that is my due as a member of the Priesthood. I beg you to please reconsider his offer, or at the very least offer a counter offer.

Yours in our shared and eternal faith,

<Signed>
Raymond Burke
Secretary of State of His Holiness

 

[Ender]

Alex