Thursday, February 27, 2020

Jean Vanier and the Fall of Heroes

I don't know much about Jean Vanier. When I was doing my novitiate in the last century we were shown a documentary on his work founding L'Arche, an organization dedicated to assisting people with intellectual disabilities. It was, obviously, a very positive presentation of the work he and his followers were doing. I forgot about Vanier and L'Arche soon after I saw the program. I must confess, we saw a documentary on the Taizé movement (very different) around the same time, and for a while I often got them confused in my mind. For many around the world though the work he did, and the personal example he projected made a lasting impression that impacted their lives profoundly. 

When he died last year Vanier, a layman, was hailed as a prophet and a saint. This week an investigative report was released claiming that he had sexually abused 6 adult, non disabled women. The abuse was in the form of using spiritual direction as a ruse to groom his victims into having sexual intercourse. He was assisted (practically mentored) in this by his own priest-spiritual director.

There is much to contemplate here. Even though I had no personal devotion to Vanier, it was heartbreaking to see the responses of those who looked up to this man, in some cases to the point of naming their children after him. There were feelings of bewilderment, betrayal and shame. I get it. I was confirmed as a boy by Theodore McCarrick, and a number of my confreres were ordained either deacons or priests by the now disgraced, laicized bishop. What were very special events in our lives have been tainted, and it can be hard to think about it. 

My standard response in situations like this is to remind people that there is one savior, Jesus Christ. We put our faith in Him, and no one else. Even canonized saints fell short sometimes during their lives. Think of Peter denying the Lord three times.  

The difference is that true saints get up, with God's grace, and continues on the journey. Through suffering they allowed the Lord to purify their intentions so that their will eventually conformed perfectly to that of God's. By suffering I mean that they accepted the daily crosses, big or small that come their way with patience, courage and, most of all, love. 

It isn't that they became incapable of sinning, or that what is sinful for the rest of humanity somehow became permissible for them, as Vanier tried to persuade his victims. It's that choosing to do the right thing became a deep seated habit, what we call virtue. True love, which at its core is sacrificial, dominated their actions. To paraphrase St. Paul, the saints no longer lived for themselves, but it was Christ who lived in them (Gal 2:19-20). 

What are to we make of Vanier and his like? I can't say in this particular case: as I wrote before, I'm not familiar enough with his life. What we can say in general is some times people begin serving the poor, for instance, with good intentions. They begin to make a name for themselves and start believing their own publicity. Slowly the desire for money, power or sex creeps into their lives. In making sacrifices for the Lord, they convince themselves that they deserve this or that pleasure, since the promise of Heaven isn't enough. 

Others start sincerely in the spiritual life, but don't experience the quick "pay off" they expected. There are no visions, no ecstasies, just the unbearable silence of the chapel. So either cynically or sincerely, they seek their consolation in other ways. They abandon a regular prayer life, making material or emotional desires the center of their lives. I knew a bishop who spent his final years in penance for his sins (I'm convinced the man died a saint). He warned us that those who impatiently seek spiritual ecstasy run the danger of falling into alcohol or drug abuse, and those frustrated with their efforts for union with God run the danger of falling into sexual sins.

There is nothing wrong with profound religious experience (though I would argue it shouldn't be sought so much as gratefully received)  or seeking union with God - the latter is what the spiritual life is all about. What we have to remember is that the spiritual journey is run by God's clock not our own. God sometimes denies us these experiences for a time, maybe for an extremely long time, to make sure we are motivated in all we do by love, and not what we're "going to get out of it."

Of course there are also those who had bad intentions all a long, using religion as a means of getting what they want. In many places in the world becoming a priest, or working in the Church in some other capacity, is still a way to climb the social ladder. Vows are made, but not taken very seriously. 

The answer is not that we shouldn't have heroes. Yes, we're taking a risk. A reason the canonization process usually takes a long time is that the Church wants to make sure beyond any doubt that the candidate died united with God, freed from all attachment to sin. We wait for a miracle attributed to the saint's intercession as a Heavenly confirmation that he or she actually is enjoying the beatific vision. 

As for heroes of the un-canonized variety, I always advise caution. Even satan can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). But don't grow cynical. Continue to look for good examples. Continue to strive to be that good example yourself. In everything remember that whatever good we do begins with God's inspiration, is guided by His grace, and ends with the fulfillment of His will, for His greater glory. 



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