What is the future of our movement?

by Alain Pilote

The founders' intentions

The MICHAEL movement faces challenges for the future that we must tackle now. In May, the directors and active members of the organization met to reflect on these challenges.  We wanted to reflect on  the methods used by the founders, Louis Even and Gilberte Côté-Mercier, to convey our message and consider whether today changes are necessary, and finally, to find the most suitable and effective means of ensuring that this message is understood by current generations so that the work of MICHAEL can continue.

What message did the founders of MICHAEL want to convey? Or, to put it another way, what is the purpose of MICHAEL, and why was it founded?

The objectives of MICHAEL are stated on page 2 of each issue, above the Table of Contents: "A journal of Catholic patriots for the Kingship of Christ and Mary in souls, in families and in nations." And then: "For social justice through Economic Democracy in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church, through the vigilant action of heads of families, and not through political parties."

So, we aim for economic reform, but not only that, there's also the religious and faith component. Because to achieve a better world, we need to address both aspects, and neglect neither (see Vatican document on human dignity in the previous issue of MICHAEL).

And, in mentioning the words "social credit", we see that a change must be made. The term social credit is now firmly associated with the nefarious system of control developed by China. To be clearly understood, we must use another name. Louis Even spoke to be understood and popularized difficult subjects so that concepts were within everyone's reach, so changing the words we use is not a problem. Today's society is not the same as it was when MICHAEL was founded, so, as we shall see, other adjustments will also be necessary.

In Vers Demain (the French-language version of MICHAEL) of November 1, 1960, Mr. Even wrote an article entitled "The scope of action of Vers Demain", which explains how the name "Vers Demain" (which translates as Towards Tomorrow) was chosen:

"When this newspaper was launched in 1939, its founders had to choose a name for it. They deliberately eliminated the term 'Social Credit'. Not in order to disguise their intention to continue promoting Douglas' doctrine, but for these reasons:

"1. Because there was a political party with that name, and the movement envisaged by the founders was to follow a completely different path; it was therefore necessary to avoid a name which, in people's minds, would associate our movement with a political party.

"2. Because too many Social Crediters saw in Douglas' teaching only the proposals for reform of the monetary and financial system. Yet the founders of Vers Demain wanted a broader scope, touching on everything that, over the years and in the course of events, they judged likely to affect the pursuit of the common good and the fulfillment of the human person. In which, after all, they were only more closely aligned with the philosophy on which well-understood Social Credit doctrine rests."

Douglas said that Social Credit could be summed up in two words: Applied Christianity. Those who have read the first of the ten lessons on Economic Democracy should remember what Geoffrey Dobbs, an early advocate for Douglas' reforms, said.  He stated that Social Credit was not only a monetary reform, but also that the term signified an undergirding confidence that we can live together in society:

« Credit is another word for 'faith' or 'confidence', so we can also call it the faith or confidence which binds any society together — the mutual trust or belief in each other without which fear is substituted for trust as the 'cement' of society."

Pope Benedict XV said in 1920 that it is in the economic field that the salvation of souls is in danger. In fact, it is Lucifer himself who sabotaged the money system, turning it into an instrument of control and leading to the loss of souls. You may have read Eric Butler's piece in the May-June-July 2024 issue of MICHAEL, entitled "Social Credit and the Kingdom of God," in which he writes: "The very future of genuine Christianity now depends upon Social Credit and the Douglas revelations."

French writer Honoré de Balzac said: "The final battle of Christianity will revolve around the problem of money, and until this problem is solved, there can be no universal application of Christianity." Pope Saint Paul VI wrote in his encyclical Populorum Progressio (on the development of peoples): "More than anyone else, he who is animated by genuine love, pits his intelligence against the problems of poverty, trying to uncover the causes and looking for effective ways of combating and overcoming them."

This is precisely what MICHAEL is fighting for. The fight to correct the money system is vital for the future of humanity, and we are in this fight. Those who have understood it know that it is the most important and urgent work of our time. It was the industrialist Henry Ford who declared: "The youth who can resolve the money question will do more for the world than all the armies of history."

In article 5 of the statutes of the Pilgrims of Saint Michael, our objectives are listed in five points:

1.    The promotion of a better world, a more just and Christian society.

2.     The spread and application of the Gospel.

3.    Teaching the Social Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and how to apply it.

4.    The formation of apostles through prayer, study and action, to combat the scandal of poverty in the world and bring about a just distribution of the earth's riches.

5.    The sanctification of its members.

The words "social credit" and "economic democracy" are not explicitly cited, but we know that we must have an honest economic system, as Louis Even envisioned, to have a better world.

Means to be employed

So much for MCHAEL's objectives. Let's talk about the means to achieve them. Mr. Even believed in educating people. Many people falsely believed that the quickest way to have a Social Credit economy was to form a political party with that name. Far from advancing the cause of true Social Credit, the creation of these "Social Credit parties" actually delayed it by sowing division and closing minds to a true understanding of Douglas' ideas.

To get Social Credit implemented, there's no need to send members of any particular party to Parliament. Douglas and Louis Even explained that democracy means that elected representatives, whatever their party affiliation, express the will of the people. The support of the people is necessary for representatives in government to stand up to the bullies running the financial dictatorship. So what's needed is education. The strength of the financiers lies in the ignorance of the people. During our study sessions, Mr. Marcel Lefebvre liked to quote the words of the prophet Hosea (4:6): "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

God's help is absolutely essential in this fight for justice. For when MICHAEL takes on high finance, it is not simply attacking human forces, but diabolical ones. Louis Even wrote in 1973:

"In an engagement against financial dictatorship, one is not only dealing with earthly powers. Like the Communist dictatorship, like the powerful organization of Freemasonry, the financial dictatorship is under the orders of Satan. Mere human weapons will not defeat it. What's needed are the weapons chosen and recommended by the Virgin Mary, she who vanquishes all heresies, she who must crush Satan's head once and for all, she who herself declared at Fatima that her Immaculate Heart would triumph in the end. And these weapons are the consecration to her Immaculate Heart marked by the wearing of her Scapular, the Rosary and penance."

Our Lady said at Fatima in 1917 that  many people go to hell because there is no one to sacrifice themselves for them. With the door-to-door Rosary Crusade, we pray the Rosary and sacrifice for these souls. Mr. Even continued:

"The Pilgrims of St. Michael are convinced that by embracing Mary's recommendations, every act they perform, every Hail Mary they address to the Queen of the world, every sacrifice they offer, contributes not only to their personal sanctification, but also to the advent of a healthier, more humane, more Christian social order, like Social Credit. In such a plan received from Mary, everything counts and nothing is lost."

What has made the MICHAEL movement so strong, why it has existed for over 80 years, is the gift of self. The fact that MICHAEL has existed without advertising revenue since 1939 (first with its French-language edition, Vers Demain and in 1953 the English-language version) is already remarkable as virtually no newspaper can survive without paid advertisements. What makes it truly strong is that people devote themselves to this movement; they become  apostles and pilgrims who carry the message of MICHAEL from house to house. But we have to ask if there are others ready to give of themselves, to volunteer? Must we pay our apostles and pilgrims?

Current situation

Let's take a look at the situation of MICHAEL in 2024, which will lead us to ask questions to ensure the movement's survival.

Mr. Even founded a journal, Vers Demain (and later MICHAEL), to spread the word about Social Credit, saying that it was like a teacher who regularly entered people's homes. Social Credit can only be understood through study and reading, there is no quicker or more miraculous way. On this subject, should we be stepping up our efforts to hold more sessions and study circles on Social Credit?

We know that people read less, especially young people who use the internet and social networks. How can we reach these young people? Do we need to make a special effort to reach them where they are?

MICHAEL subscriptions are declining. Why?  Firstly, there are fewer apostles and pilgrims visiting families. And we know that people are less and less religious. Do we have to abandon our religious message, or adapt it, to reach these people? What's more, some people have a distorted image of the White Berets. What can be done to improve this image?

MICHAEL has a very fine message to convey, more relevant  than ever (and not just for the poor countries of Africa or Latin America, but also for richer countries like Canada, where the economic system could collapse at any moment). But we need people to spread the word. The most pressing challenge for our movement is, of course, that of succession. We are all aging one year every year, and none of us is immortal (the soul is, but not the body). So, if no one comes to replace us, it is a mathematical certainty that the number of members (permanent full-time members at Rougemont and local apostles) will decline and will fall to zero or almost zero if nothing is done to change the trend.

Louis Even and Gilberte Côté's vision was that young people come and sacrifice some years of their lives — two, three, five or ten. Those who wished to marry could do so afterwards, while remaining friends of MICHAEL. So naturally, there was to be a certain turnover in the full-time staff, who would be replaced over the years by younger people. But the young people are not coming any longer.

There are many reasons for this. What can we do to attract young people? We could reply that it's the same situation everywhere, in churches and in other movements, that young people are absent, but without a new generation the MICHAEL movement is bound to disappear.

However, we must not lose hope. As St. Ignatius of Loyola said we must do our part as if everything depended upon us, but put our trust in God as if everything depended upon Him. Let's be bold and ask the Holy Spirit to know what needs to be changed or adapted, without changing the basis of the message or the charism of Louis Even. Let us sow the message of MICHAEL, and God Himself will change hearts and minds.

Alain Pilote