Members of the L’Arche community in Burnaby are devastated after learning of serious allegations of sexual misconduct regarding founder Jean Vanier.

“The news is deeply disturbing and shocking for all of us,” said Denise Haskett, executive director and community leader of L’Arche Greater Vancouver. “We are a community in grieving.” 

L’Arche International was founded in 1964 by Canadian Catholic philanthropist Vanier as an inclusive community for people with intellectual disabilities. The Burnaby branch serves about 33 people. 

On Feb. 22, the findings of an independent investigation into sexual misconduct by Vanier were released, saying Vanier had inappropriate sexual relations with six adult women between 1970 and 2005. The report described the testimonies of the women as “credible” and “consistent,” saying the women did not know each other and the inappropriate relationships Vanier had with them were “manipulative and emotionally abusive and had a significant negative impact on their personal lives and subsequent relationships.”

None of the victims had intellectual disabilities.

“I commend L’Arche International for doing this,” Haskett told The B.C. Catholic. “To get at the truth, that is the most important thing. There has been no effort to hide or cover any of this.”

Vanier was an icon of L’Arche’s mission to create welcoming spaces for people with and without intellectual disabilities and visited Burnaby several times over the years. Haskett said the allegations don’t undermine the good work her organization has been doing over four decades: “People with developmental disabilities really have a unique gift to offer our world and we are transformed by them and our relationships with them. The news doesn’t change that.”

She added L’Arche Greater Vancouver is licensed by the provincial government and abides by strict safeguards and licensing inspections to ensure it follows professional business standards and codes of conduct. She said none of the six victims were local individuals.

Denise Haskett, executive director and community leader of L’Arche Greater Vancouver, at a fundraising event in 2019. “We are a community in grieving.” (BCC files)

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller also voiced his support of L’Arche Greater Vancouver in the wake of the revelations.

“The distressing news we received on the weekend is extraordinarily painful and disturbing, and for many, especially victims/survivors of clerical sexual abuse, it means re-experiencing the pain and disillusionment they have suffered,” he said Feb. 24.

Archbishop Miller thanked the international L’Arche community for initiating the independent inquiry and releasing the truth about Vanier, then added: “L’Arche Greater Vancouver has been serving people with developmental disabilities in our community for more than 45 years ... This remains true today, and our commitment to L’Arche will not change because its ministry is a blessing to all of us.”

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops also released a statement thanking L’Arche for uncovering the “disturbing allegations” and offering prayer for its communities.

“The news is all the more difficult and incomprehensible given that Mr. Vanier had a profound influence on the way people with mental and physical disabilities are perceived and treated today, and his writings have had a positive influence on people’s lives within many different cultures and languages. Nonetheless, any harm that was done cannot be excused.”

David McCullum, a friend and supporter of L’Arche Greater Vancouver for 30 years, said this is a trying time for the whole community.

“Our heroes and those that we revere are human and thus flawed, but this one really hurts,” he said. “The women and the report are of course to be believed, but this does not take anything away from the mission, values, or worldwide accomplishments that L’Arche has achieved and inspired.”

Adrienne Castellon, associate dean at Trinity Western University, said Jean Vanier’s work had a large influence on her personal and professional work when it came to the study of “inclusion, the dignity of the human person, and peace leadership.”

“I am profoundly disturbed by the news that he was a perpetrator of sexual abuse. It contradicts everything I had believed about Jean Vanier the philosopher and humanitarian. The news makes me grapple with the incompatibility of Vanier as a man of God and a criminal.”

Although Castellon feels betrayed by Vanier, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she said there are a few lessons to be learned in this situation, including the importance of checks and balances in organizations, the dangers of idealizing individuals, and the importance of prayer for L’Arche “in the face of their founder’s disgrace.”

L’Arche runs 153 communities and 21 community projects for people with developmental disabilities in 38 countries around the world, including in more than a dozen Canadian cities.

In a statement, L’Arche International said its findings reveal Vanier was influenced by Father Thomas Philippe, a priest who was forbidden from carrying out public or private ministry in 1956 after a canonical inquiry found he had inappropriate relationships with women. Vanier considered Father Philippe a spiritual father, denied the allegations of sexual misconduct against Father Philippe, and seemed to adopt some of his distorted views.

“We are shocked by these discoveries and unreservedly condemn these actions, which are in total contradiction with the values Jean claimed and are incompatible with the basic rules of respect and integrity of persons,” said a Feb. 22 letter from International Leader Stephan Posner and Vice-International Leader Stacy Cates-Carney.

They said Vanier initiated sexual relationships with women who were seeking spiritual guidance, using “highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations” to justify his actions.

“For many of us, Jean was one of the people we loved and respected the most … Jean hid part of his identity and his silence, for whatever reason, allowed unacceptable practices to persist and gave us a distorted view of our founding history.”

L’Arche is hopeful its campaign to replace its aging facilities in Burnaby will be successful despite news about founder Jean Vanier. (BCC files)

The news comes as L’Arche Greater Vancouver is in the midst of a campaign to raise $30 million to replace its aging facilities in Burnaby with a new three-storey building for programs and housing as well as affordable rental units for seniors.

Haskett said despite the devastating news, she is hopeful the campaign will continue to be successful. “We are very grateful for people’s prayers and support in Burnaby.”

Vanier also founded Faith and Light, another organization for people with intellectual disabilities. Vanier was living in France when he died of cancer last May at age 90.

Archbishop Miller encouraged the faithful not to lose confidence in God. “As we begin the season of Lent, we invoke God’s sustaining grace and pray for all those who have suffered from abuse. Let us also recall the words of St. Paul, who in the midst of suffering wrote so wisely, ‘We do not lose heart.’”