Catholic charity founder sexually assaulted at least six women

The Nobel prize nominated Catholic founder of a charity for disabled people preyed upon and sexually assaulted at least six women including nuns.

Jean Vanier established L’Arche to improve conditions for disabled people but used his position within the faith to foster ‘manipulative sexual relationships’ and inflict ‘suffering’ on his victims between 1970 to 2005, according to a report published February 22.

Vanier, who died last year aged 90, would exert a ‘psychological hold’ over victims and did not rule out the potential of there being even more abused, it said.

The report released on Saturday by L’Arche International said Vanier deprived his victims of their free will and ‘so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions’.

The charity runs homes and centres for disabled people to live together and operates in 38 countries with about 10,000 members.

In a joint letter to the L’Arche Federation, current leaders Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney wrote: ‘We are shocked by these discoveries and unreservedly condemn these actions, which are in total contradiction with the values Jean Vanier claimed and are incompatible with the basic rules of respect and integrity of persons, and contrary to the fundamental principles on which L’Arche is based.

‘We recognise the courage and suffering of these women, and of any others who may not have spoken up.

‘We ask forgiveness for these events which took place in the context of L’Arche, some of which were caused by our founder.’

It added: ‘While the considerable good he did throughout his life is not in question, we will nevertheless have to mourn a certain image we may have had of Jean and of the origins of L’Arche.’

None of the women were disabled but, according to the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail, some were nuns.

During the inquiry, commissioned by the organisation last year and carried out by the independent UK-based GCPS Consulting group, the women said Vanier had engaged in sexual relations with them as they sought spiritual direction.

The report also found the women, who had no links to each other, reported similar facts and his behaviour was based on ‘spiritual and mystical justifications.’

Unmarried Vanier established the charity in 1964 to help disabled people become full-fledged participants in the community instead of patients.

In 2015 he was awarded the Templeton Prize for spiritual work, as well as France’s Legion of Honor. In 2017 he was the subject of a documentary screened at the Cannes Film Festival called ‘Jean Vanier, the Sacrament of Tenderness.’