8

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin died in 1955 and lived a rich posthumous life. His death did not erase the suspicions that hung over his work. Henri de Lubac is one of the most ardent defenders but, suffering himself from prolonged silence, he could not always act openly. In 1959, Fernande Tardivel, a fervent teilhardian, prepared an anthology of Teilhard’s texts and attempted to publish it. However, the book was repeatedly delayed because of old fears and reticences: the need for imprimatur, the absence of a well-argued preface, etc. It was not until 1961 that the work Hymn to the Universe was published, after having involved a straw man and a straw woman, a strategy necessary for “a Church in search of freedom”.