Over the weekend, I read the almost 900-page report of the Investigation which L’Arche had mandated to investigate the allegations of abuse of Jean Vanier and Thomas Philippe. I am impressed by the courage of L’Arche International in mandating this report and in the expertise, and thorough investigation carried out by the people who made Read more
The Catholic Church in France is facing demands from its religious orders to take responsibility for the evidence of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse in L’Arche, a former lay community for people with developmental disabilities. A 437-page report, published after a two-year investigation, exposes the shocking details of how L’Arche’s founder, Jean Vanier (pictured), created Read more
Ireland’s former president Mary McAleese has written to the Pope saying she’ll leave the the Catholic Church if it is found the Vatican “failed to act to protect members of the L’Arche community” from the community’s founder Jean Vanier. In her letter to the pope (which she published on her personal website on 26 February) Read more
Jean Vanier who died earlier this year features a documentary being screened in New Zealand this month. Summer in the Forest Summer is a beautiful and moving study of this extraordinary man and the organisation he founded. Vanier founded L’Arche, a community based outside of Paris for individuals with developmental disabilities, in the 1960s. His goal Read more
On Saturday 8 June, over 100 people joined with L’Arche (Kapiti), Mount Tabor (Auckland), Marralomeda (Christchurch) and Faith & Light communities to honour the memory of Jean Vanier who died in Paris on 7 May. Participants in the service included people from all Christian faiths with and without intellectual disability. A joyous atmosphere prevailed as Read more
Pope Francis phoned Jean Vanier a week before his death. He told reporters he wanted to express his gratitude for his witness. “Simply put, I want to thank him and thank God for having given us this man with such a great witness,” the pope said. Jean Vanier, whose charity work helped improve conditions for Read more
Jean Vanier (90), who in 1964 founded the international federation L’Arche, has been awarded a Spiritual Solidarity Award from the Adyan Foundation, a Lebanon-based organisation for interreligious studies and spiritual solidarity. L’Arche communities are dedicated to creating and developing homes, programmes and support networks for people who have intellectual disabilities. The official letter accompanying the Read more