Fritz and Lauren of L Arche GWDC. Photo courtesy of Lauren Palmer.
Last February, the worldwide federation L’Arche released an internal report that revealed decades of sexual misconduct committed by its founder Jean Vanier, who died in 2019. Mr. Vanier had been described as a living saint, and his work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities had inspired an international following and the establishment of over 150 L’Arche communities in 38 countries.
The members of those communities around the world were devastated by the news of Mr. Vanier’s misconduct. They anticipated that overcoming the fallout from those revelations would be their most difficult challenge for some time to come. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic became another undeniable reality to face.