Navarre was once an independent kingdom between France & Spain. So their king Henri d’Albret decided they should build some strong walls to defend themselves. In 1569 the Protestants (Huguenots) of this town held off the attacking French Catholic forces! They stayed indépendant for about 50 years, but the next time they were threatened, the new leader said it wasn’t worth fighting for anymore. The town became French and Catholic but no lives were lost in the transition.
Wars of Religion destroyed lots of buildings and killed so many persons in this part of France and others. The Church of Saint Germain in Navarrenx not only changed from Catholic to Protestant and back to Catholic again, it also practiced discrimination against a group of people called the Cagots. I’m not sure what made these folks so objectionable, but they were treated like lepers.
These persons couldn’t enter through the front door of thus church. There was a smaller door for them on the left side. They had to sit in the back of the church. They had a separate baptismal font. The priest offered them the communion host the end of a long stick. Very few occupations were open to these people. Only after the French Revolution (1789) did these discriminatory practices stop.
This reminds me of our country and some of our past and present discriminatory practices.
What else is there to say? The church has gone wrong so many times in so many ways. Does the good it does outweigh the bad? Another question to ponder as I head out for a 24-kilometer (about 15-mile) walk.
I’m getting close now. I’ll stop walking in Roncevaux this year. Merci et Bon Chemin.
Walking in France from Le Puy en Velay 
Does the good outweigh the bad – excellent question to ponder. You have to study the positives to see that, and history loves to record the negatives.
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