The practices were founded on so-called "mystical" or "spiritual" beliefs that had been condemned by the Catholic Church, it added. Vanier described Philippe, who died in , as his "spiritual father", but publicly denied knowledge of the practices. The son of a Canadian diplomat, he left a naval career in to study theology, saying he wanted to "follow Jesus". While visiting a chaplain in Paris who worked with men with learning difficulties, he became disturbed by the poor conditions in which the men lived.
He founded L'Arche - the Ark - to provide communities for people with learning difficulties to live alongside people without disability as equals.
There are now L'Arche centres around the world. Vanier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, and was awarded the prestigious Companion of the Order of Canada. In , he was the recipient of the Templeton Prize, an award described as "entirely deserved" by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. A statement released by L'Arche France Saturday stressed that some women still have "deep wounds. Vanier worked as a Canadian navy officer and professor in Toronto before turning to charity work.
A visit to a psychiatric facility prompted him to found the Catholic-inspired charity L'Arche in France in as an alternative living environment where those with developmental disabilities could be full-fledged participants in the community instead of patients. The charity now has facilities in 38 countries that are home to thousands of people both with and without disabilities. Two years later, Father Philippe was called to Rome and removed from ministry, ostensibly for unspecified health reasons.
Vanier had maintained for years that he did not know why Father Philippe had been removed from ministry in But the new investigation reveal that was not true. Jean Vanier repeatedly and publicly stated that he did not know why Philippe was convicted.
We now know that Jean Vanier lied. Father Philippe continued to serve as a mentor to Mr. Vanier, and by , he had been restored to ministry. He served as the chaplain at a home for men with intellectual disabilities in the French town of Trosly-Breuil.
Vanier visited and Father Philippe urged him to respond to the feelings that he was meant to engage in similar work. This encouragement led Mr. Father Philippe served as the chaplain of this community until his death in Marie-Dominique Philippe, founded a religious movement in France in In , the community announced it had been made aware that Father Marie-Dominique had sexually abused several adult women and helped hide the abuse of his brother, Father Thomas.
In fact, Mr. Vanier had been named in the report about Father Philiippe. The priest was told not to communicate with Mr. To get around these restrictions, the new report found, Mr. Vanier and the others adopted code names when sending letters to one another and met discreetly to learn from Father Philippe.
The press release reports that Mr. He did not pursue or report these allegations of sexual abuse. They bring together disabled and non-disabled adults to live and work alongside one another and are widely praised for their efforts. The bravery of these women calls us to recognize the importance of truth-telling and its alignment with our core values.
While many questions will yet be answered in the coming months and years, we stand today on the side of those who have been harmed.
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