Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 42 minutes ago
Editor’s note: In February 2020, L’Arche International released the results of an independent investigation that it commissioned into Jean Vanier, who died in 2019. The investigation determined that the L’Arche founder, Catholic philosopher and humanitarian engaged in manipulative sexual relationships with at least six women from 1970-2005. None of the women had disabilities. The report also concluded that Vanier was complicit in covering up similar sexual abuse by his mentor, the late Father Thomas Philippe.
In this response, Krista reflects on the moral questions and meaning raised by these discoveries: onbeing.org/blog/response-to-investigation-of-jean-vanier
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A philosopher and Catholic social innovator, Jean Vanier founded The L’Arche movement, which centers around people with mental disabilities. The dozens of L’Arche communities around the world have become places of pilgrimage and are transformative for those involved and for the world around them. He devoted his life to the practical application of Christianity’s most paradoxical teachings — that there’s power in humility, strength in weakness, and light in the darkness of human existence. (Original Air Date: December 20, 2007)
About the Guest:
Jean Vanier was a philosopher and the founder of L'Arche. He lived full-time in the original community in Trosly-Breuil, France. He was also the recipient of the 2015 Templeton Prize. His books include “Befriending the Stranger,” “An Ark for the Poor,” and “A Cry is Heard: My Path to Peace.” He died at age 90 in 2019.
Visit our website to read the transcript, download the episode, or listen to the unedited interview: onbeing.org/programs/jean-vanier-the-wisdom-of-tenderness
Visit our On Being Classics Library, where this episode is featured:
onbeing.org/libraries/classics
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On Being with Krista Tippett: onbeing.org/series/podcast
This Movie Changed Me: onbeing.org/series/this-movie-changed-me
Becoming Wise: onbeing.org/series/becoming-wise
Editor’s note: In February 2020, L’Arche International released the results of an independent investigation that it commissioned into Jean Vanier, who died in 2019. The investigation determined that the L’Arche founder, Catholic philosopher and humanitarian engaged in manipulative sexual relationships with at least six women from 1970-2005. None of the women had disabilities. The report also concluded that Vanier was complicit in covering up similar sexual abuse by his mentor, the late Father Thomas Philippe.
In this response, Krista reflects on the moral questions and meaning raised by these discoveries: onbeing.org/blog/response-to-investigation-of-jean-vanier
*****
A philosopher and Catholic social innovator, Jean Vanier founded The L’Arche movement, which centers around people with mental disabilities. The dozens of L’Arche communities around the world have become places of pilgrimage and are transformative for those involved and for the world around them. He devoted his life to the practical application of Christianity’s most paradoxical teachings — that there’s power in humility, strength in weakness, and light in the darkness of human existence. (Original Air Date: December 20, 2007)
About the Guest:
Jean Vanier was a philosopher and the founder of L'Arche. He lived full-time in the original community in Trosly-Breuil, France. He was also the recipient of the 2015 Templeton Prize. His books include “Befriending the Stranger,” “An Ark for the Poor,” and “A Cry is Heard: My Path to Peace.” He died at age 90 in 2019.
Visit our website to read the transcript, download the episode, or listen to the unedited interview: onbeing.org/programs/jean-vanier-the-wisdom-of-tenderness
Visit our On Being Classics Library, where this episode is featured:
onbeing.org/libraries/classics
STAY IN TOUCH
Facebook: facebook.com/onbeing
Twitter: twitter.com/onbeing
Instagram: instagram.com/onbeing
Newsletter: onbeing.org/newsletter
OUR PODCASTS
On Being with Krista Tippett: onbeing.org/series/podcast
This Movie Changed Me: onbeing.org/series/this-movie-changed-me
Becoming Wise: onbeing.org/series/becoming-wise
