Lagura: An independent, rebellious Catholic-philosopher

Fr. Flor Lagura SVD

Albert Camus

(1913 -1960)

BORN in Algeria on November 7, 1913 to poor parents who were Pieds-Noir (“black-feet” or French/Europeans born in Algeria), Albert Camus received baptism, upbringing and education as Catholic, like many of the French immigrants living in Algeria. Being intellectually gifted enabled him to study at prestigious Catholic schools.

Then sadness came to his life. The death of his father who fought against Nazi Germany took away his childhood joy.

Another tragic experience shook his faith. As he and his mother were leaving the church after mass, the young Albert saw a boy of his same age crossing the street across from the cathedral. All of a sudden a car came screeching and killed the young lad.

At that moment the young but very inquisitive Albert Camus asked, “If there is a good and loving God, why did He allow such an accident to happen?”

Faith unmoored led him to a life without much moral basis. Twice he married, twice divorced. He became known as a notorious “skirt-chaser.”

Always looking for happiness and meaning in life, Albert Camus entered into the political fray as a rebel against Communist Russia. To oppose Russian influence, he advocated a political union of Europe, sowing the seeds of the European Union.

He made his name as a writer. Besides numerous essays and plays he wrote novels, such as “The Plague,” “The Stranger,” “The Myth of Sisyphus,’ and “The Rebel.” His novels showed his philosophical background, namely, Absurdism (a marriage between existentialism and nihilism).

People remember some of his quotes: “In the midst of winter, I finally realized that within me there dwells an invincible summer.” And “If you are looking for the meaning of life, you will never live.”

In 1955, at age 44, Camus received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Always rebellious, he challenged the Church, yet remained friendly and respectful to priests. At the peak of his life, tragedy struck: a car accident even if the road conditions that day were more than good. People suspected that on account of his opposition to Communist Russia, the KGB did him in, for he remained till the end always “a REBEL.”

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph