Cathar Truth: Why These Pacifist Good Christians/Cathars Were Brutally Persecuted as Heretics by the Medieval Church of Rome

by Beverley E Gould

This is the story of my encounter with a monk from a shared past life in the thirteenth century. His message to me was "I want you to remember the Gilded Rose. It could be useful for you now. We were the Pure Ones, who were rent asunder for official gain in the Languedoc South, France. We were put to the rack in the Inquisition. It was not your fault. I love you, I forgive you, and I want you to be happy." My thirty-five years of research of the fascinating life and times, origins, and beliefs of these Pure Ones known as Cathars are detailed in this book. They were taught by Mary Magdalene in the first century and persecuted by the church of Rome in a forty-year Crusade ending in their ultimate defeat at Montsegur in 1244. This book is my tribute to all those thousands, if not millions, of good Christians/Cathars, who stood fast for their truth in the face of certain death. It leads you into understanding their relationship to Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the Holy Grail, the Troubadours, the Shroud of Turin, the Knights Templar, the Ark of the Covenant, the Sacred Feminine, and more. This deeply researched book will enrich your spiritual life and give you insights into the beliefs and gentleness of a hitherto unknown world-the Church of Love-brutally suppressed by the medieval Church of Rome because they refused to obey the Roman Church's man-made rules.

284 pages, Hardcover

Published August 17, 2018

Reviews

[Alan A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. humorously said in one of his videos that the Order of Preachers had dealt with the Cathars, and so, you do not see them existing today. True to the latter title of the book, the Cathars were persecuted. The authors documentation is extensive and well-shown. There are also other supplementary articles that talk about casual Cathar rural and peasant life such as that of Caleb Shaw, who demonstrates that variations of Cathar belief was also based upon personal experiences from Languedoc and other places, with an influence of naturalism that may have also had religious Manichean influence. In contemporary terms, it is a scholarly work.

However, the authors title on ''Cathar Truth,'' is not entirely a whole truth presented here. I feel that there are purposefully made portions omitted, excluded, or undercut, for the authors bias against the Church of Rome can be seen on the back handle of the book in saying ''they refused to obey the Roman Church's man-made rules,'' alongside the author calling the title ''Pacifist Good Christians.'' The war and its many phases against the Cathars was not a perpetual persecution of innocents, such as there had been no offensive or defensive Cathar measures that never took place, but that the viciousness and ferocity in which the opposition took is undermined. Not excusing the indiscriminate and unfortunate incident in which Northern French Catholic Knights have killed other Catholics illicitly, but the armies and militant forces of the Cathars, and their methodologies provided, was part of a necessary evolution to their religion that took part during the crusade, putting off the veil of initial pacifism. The hagiography of people like Saint Pietro of Verona are examples of not uncommon medieval assassinations committed by opposing parties.

One article I would recommend to supplement is the more militaristic aspects in which the Occitan resistance headed by a coalition of secular political authorities and religious Cathars (despite the desire for pacifism) is written by Michael Taulier, called ''The Albigensian Crusade: A Comparative Military Study, 1209-1218. Master’s Thesis, American Public University System (2010).'' The crusade against the Cathars was formally announced when Pierre de Castelnau, a Cistercian monk and Papal legate, was assassinated, prompting the sword sponsored by Pope Innocent III. The conflict lasted 20 or so years due to the fact that there had also been violent resistance by the Cathars and their supporters, often mercenaries to fight on their behalf, Cathar militia men who were not part of the 'perfect,' and other secular forces in support of the insurgency in Southern France. Even after the formal declaration, post-Cathar exiles or insurgence only had a very temporary existence in causing some small, local, civil strife. The conflict was more than merely religious, but also social and political, which has complex woven roots in the north-south interior French relationship.

This is a comment that desires to rectify and give further consideration to the authors personal take on the Cathar heresy. I would honestly doubt that Beverley Gould would voluntarily agree to part-take in the Cathar ritual of Endura. Not an excuse for particular episodes or scenes in this great picture of an event which could be condemned, such as the case with indiscriminate killing by Nothern Knights.

[Kristi Duarte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The construction of the book and organization of its sections is a bit of a hodgepodge, but there's plenty of very interesting information about the Cathars, their history, and what they believed. But the author has done a good job of researching a variety of sources, and interestingly offers her own interpretations about several matters. I don't agree with all her views, but this book will definitely provide both insights and food for thought for anyone curious about these bonhommes.