Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche communities, passed away at the age of 90 on May 7. In my piece for The Times of Malta (10.V.2019), I reflect on his life, his work and its impact, in particular with respect to his understanding of community:

"A community, however, is not a sheltered idyll. It is a place where there can be much suffering, pain and anguish. Vanier saw beyond the physical pain and the loneliness of marginalisation. To questions on suffering, he seemed to have understood the message of Christ to the distressed sisters of Lazarus: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Based on the fundamental belief that man is created in the image and likeness of God, L’Arche communities do not make a distinction between the intellectually disabled and the person assisting them. Instead, each person residing in the community helps one another to plunge into the depths of the meaning of humanity, vulnerability and weakness and, thus, builds real human, open and loving connections. And where love thrives, God is glorified.

In the contemporary discourse on inclusion, this reciprocity is often replaced by a misconstrued notion of benevolent liberal paternalism. Vanier informs our discussion on this too: “The point of inclusion is the belief that each of us is important, unique, and sacred. We can only relate to others and begin to include them in our lives and our society if we have this primary belief.” This is the prerequisite for justice since this “means more than just following the law, not hurting people; it also means respecting and valuing each individual.”"

The full piece may be read on The Times of Malta website by clicking here.