Like many, I was truly upset to hear the news of the report into Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche. Rather than go into the details, here is L'Arche's statement.
He had for a long while been a person I respected, and was one of a few people who spurred me on in what was a difficult ministry path when I took my first steps into the world of Church and disability. His theological work on welcome and learning disability was one of the first pieces of dedicated disability theology I came across.
Having said that, when I first read the statement my initial reaction was to pray for the women involved. My heart goes out to them and I am thankful they came forward. My second reaction was for the worldwide L'Arche communities, and especially those involved in L'Arche UK.
The work these wonderful communities do is exemplary. They are kind, caring, beautiful and based on the example of Christ. They also have solid safeguarding policies in place. Please don't let this revelation detract from that. Whilst many of us feel hurt and betrayed by Vanier, we must not tar this work with the same brush – it is more than its founder.
While the majority of tweets and Facebook posts on this have been prayerful and supportive of L'Arche and the women involved, some have been acrid and unhelpful. Some have greeted the news with an element of schadenfreude, appearing to take joy from someone else's downfall.
Many showed a lack of understanding of how this sort of abuse of power can so easily go undetected. In these events, it is not just the people who were being abused who were groomed. Perpetrators of abuse are also very adept at grooming those around them.
The 'someone must have known and protected him' witch-hunt is not necessary, as this will have most likely been covered in the independent inquiry.
Which leads me to some of the unhelpful reporting in the international media. Many outlets have said the inquiry was internal, whereas the statement from L'Arche itself says that an independent UK organisation was brought in (GCPS) - the best and healthiest way to deal with a safeguarding issue.
In conclusion, please pray: for the women who had the courage to come forward, for L'Arche and all it's communities, and all those who are reeling from this news.
Kay Morgan-Gurr is Chair of Children Matter and Co-Founder of the Additional Needs Alliance, part of the Evangelical Alliance Council. For more, www.kaymorgangurr.com and on Twitter @kaymorgan_gurr
