The Community of the Beatitudes is one of the "new communities" established in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

(1962–1965) in the movement of the Charismatic Renewal Movement. It was founded in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1973, and came under the ecclesial authority of the

Archbishop of Albi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Albi (–Castres–Lavaur) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Albiensis (–Castrensis–Vauriensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Albi (–Castres–Lavaur)''), usually referred to simply as the Archdiocese of Albi, is a ...

in southern France since May 1975 (Foundation in Cordes). It was recognised in 2002 by the Holy See as an association of the faithful. On December 3, 2008, the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

asked the Community to change its canonical form and come under the authority of the

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...

. On June 29, 2011, the Holy See recognized the Community of the Beatitudes as a Public Association of the Faithful under the ecclesial authority of the Archbishop of Toulouse. On December 8, 2020, The Holy See recognized the Community of the Beatitudes as an Ecclesial Family of Consecrated Life of diocesan right by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life (CIVCSVA). This is the first community of consecrated life to be erected under the title. Situated in the charismatic renewal movement, its spirituality is both

Eucharistic The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

and

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

, inspired by the Carmelite tradition and living out the spirit of the Beatitudes ( Matthew chapter 5). It gathers together the faithful of all states of life (families, single people, priests and consecrated

brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

and

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

), who share a common vocation of prayer and fraternal communion, combining a marked contemplative dimension with numerous apostolic and missionary activities such as parishes, hospital and health care, Marian sanctuaries, retreat centres and ministry to the poor. In the past, the community was the subject of complaints in justice and judicial investigations showing questionable practices: the MIVILUDES asked the prefect of

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

to check the legality of

voluntary work Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

. The Community of the Beatitudes sued certain newspapers and authors for such allegations and won convictions on the ground of libel.

History

The community was founded in Montpellier on 25 May 1973 by two couples, as the "Community of the

Lion of Judah The Lion of Judah ( he, אריה יהודה, ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah. The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given b ...

and the Slain Lamb" (''Communauté du Lion de Juda et de l'Agneau Immolé''). One of the founders, Gérard Croissant, had previously decided to become a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

pastor. However, he embraced

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1975 and was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1978 under the name "Brother Ephraim" (''Frère Éphraïm''). In 1984, there were 300 members in 15 houses, six being outside France, according to the community. In 1991, it was named "Community of the Beatitudes".

Status

On 19 January 1979, the community was first recognised by the Catholic Church at the diocesan level by Robert-Joseph Coffy, Archbishop of

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig ...

, as a "pious union". On 1 January 1985, the community was recognised by the same archbishop as a "private association of faithful of diocesan right". On 8 December 2002, it was established as an "international private association of the faithful" of pontifical right by the Pontifical Council for the Laity of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, and its statutes were approved on an experimental basis for five years. A general moderator was placed at the head of the community. In December 2007, the community announced that the Pontifical Council had extended the provisional for a period of two years during which there was to be a clarification of the statutes as well as the canonical status of members. Meanwhile, religious authorities gave very precise guidelines to the community. Members had to clarify their purpose, namely to choose the monastic life or that of a community of lay people. It was also asked of the Beatitudes to cease psychotherapy practices within the community. Persons living in families were to have separate and independent housing, paid employment and the social security coverage provided by law. Finally, the authorities said they had noted the use of the expression "children community", which was deemed as "unacceptable". This clarification was to have been made at the general meeting of the community, in November 2008. Following a request by Cardinal

Bernard Panafieu Bernard Louis Auguste Paul Panafieu ( ; 26 January 1931 – 12 November 2017) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Marseille from 1995 until his retirement in 2006. He was made a cardinal in 2003. Biography Panafieu ...

, charged by the Holy See with responsibility for the Beatitudes, it was postponed because of legal proceedings against the leadership of the community. In 2010 the community numbered almost 100 priests, 40

seminarians A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, 350 consecrated sisters, and hundreds of lay members in 70 houses, in 30 countries and on all continents, at the request of bishops in more than 60

dioceses In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. This clarification required greater separation between the different canonical states of life.), as well as the abandonment of the practice of psycho-spiritual sessions.

Practices

This community belongs to the charismatic ecclesial movements founded after the

. The houses, divided in three branches (brothers, sisters, lay members) are entrusted to a "coordinator", in charge of the unity and mission of the particular house. To permanently engage in this contemplative community, seven years of "discernment" are required. The community says it has a spirituality inspired from

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

: they practice silence,

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

and "prayer of the heart". Prayer is an important element of the spirituality through the practices of silent prayer,

prayer beads Prayer beads are a form of beadwork used to count the repetitions of prayers, chants, or mantras by members of various religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Umbanda, Islam, Sikhism, the Baháʼí Faith, and some Christian denominati ...

, Rosary,

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

and permanent Eucharistic adoration. For the liturgy, members use such things as

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

chrism Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in th ...

and Orthodox icons. The community is also characterised by religious practices inspired by

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, reflecting a desire to rediscover the Jewish roots of Christianity. Members celebrate

seventh-day Sabbath The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a ...

and practice dances of Israel in praise of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. These dances, similar to the Hora and the

Debke ''Dabke'' ( ar, دبكة also spelled ''dabka'', ''dubki'', ''dabkeh'', plural ''dabkaat'') is a Levantine Arab folk dance. Dabke combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. The line ...

, are sometimes performed on Friday evening (when Sabbath begins), but more often on Saturday evening after

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

of the Resurrection. The community focuses on the "new evangelization" as asked for by Pope John Paul II. It has a publishing house, the "Beatitudes Editions" (Éditions des Béatitudes) and published ''Fire and Light'' (''Feu et Lumière''), a monthly magazine of prayer texts. It also has ''Radio Ecclesia'', a radio in the diocese of Nîmes, and ''Maria Multimédia'' which produces audio CDs, cassettes, videos, DVDs and CD-Rom.

Controversies

In 1996, former members criticised what they saw as the misuse of power by a strict obedience leading to an

infantilization Infantilization is the prolonged treatment of one who has a mental capacity greater than that of a child as though they are a child. Studies have shown that an individual, when infantilized, is overwhelmingly likely to feel disrespected. Such ind ...

. They also accused the community of promoting everyday events as miraculous, and believing that any problem may be solved by religious means. In 1998, the community was even listed as cult in a book named ''Dictionary of Cults'', published by the Centre against Mental Manipulations (Centre contre les Manipulations Mentales). The French Catholic bishops strongly reacted to these publications and rejected the accusation of the existence of cults within the

. Bishop

Jean Vernette Fr. Jean Vernette (26 February 1929, Port-Vendres, Pyrénées-Orientales - 16 September 2002) was a French priest of the diocese of Montauban. He was considered a specialist by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1973, Vernette was appointed national s ...

, appointed national secretary of French episcopate for the study of cults and new religious movements and also member of the CCMM, also complained in January 2001, regretting that "groups within Church officially recognized by the ecclesial authority", including the Community of the Beatitudes, are "wrongly" labelled as cults, and also warned against a confirmed deviance by some people, according to him, who "want to use the anti-cult fight as a rocket for an anti-religious fight", spreading "the usual thought line of the Rationalist Union, the freethought and the

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in its atheist version". In February 2008, in France, one of the brothers of the community, admitted the

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

of 50 children aged from five to fourteen years. According to an article by ''Le Nouvel Observateur'', some testimonies confirmed the lack of action by the leadership towards this case of

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

. The four members of the Community where he lived were evicted too and asked the local bishop to intervene. The Community responded that they were evicted not because they disclosed the case (as they state) but “due to their persistent refusal to obey the Community’s decision to close this house for financial and pastoral reasons.” In October 2008, the

Direction centrale de la police judiciaire Direction may refer to: *Relative direction, for instance left, right, forward, backwards, up, and down ** Anatomical terms of location for those used in anatomy ** List of ship directions *Cardinal direction Mathematics and science *Direction ...

also investigated after complaints of

s and the suicide of a teenage alumnus of a Private High-School entrusted to the Community of the Beatitudes in east of France. In 2008 Gérard Croissant was relieved of the exercise of diaconal ministry and forced to leave the community. At that time he was asked to withdraw to a life of silence, prayer and penance; however, he continued to speak to groups, outside of the Community. In October 2010 the Holy See sent Father Henry Donneaud as Pontifical Commissioner to replace the existing leadership of the Community and supervise its canonical changes towards an “Ecclesial Family of Consecrated Life” (under the authority of the

). On November 17, 2011, Father Donneaud announced that the founder of the Community, former Deacon Gérard (Ephraim) Croissant, had committed "crimes against the moral law of the church" and had acknowledged "serious failures" in sexual matters, particularly in regard to sisters in the community, and also an underage girl, it said. Even though "no charges have been ever pressed against him", Father Donneaud adds “The Community of the Beatitudes is deeply ashamed of the failures of Ephraim, and expresses compassion and sorrow to the victims of the abuses. The new information about the gravely culpable acts committed by several of its members, in particular its founder, has led the community to move further ahead in the process of repentance and purification of its memory.” . The present Statutes of the Community were renewed ''ad experimentum'' on June 29, 2014, for 3 years, under the guidance and support of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life.

Bibliography

* ''Les Naufragés de l'esprit. Des sectes dans l'Église catholique'', T. Baffoy, A. Delestre, J-P Sauzet, Seuil editions, 1996 * ''Les communautés nouvelles - Nouveaux visages du catholicisme français'', Olivier Landron, Le Cerf editions, 2004 * ''Les Pluies de l'arrière-saison'', Brother Ephraïm, Fayard editions, 1986

References

External links

Community of the Beatitudes — Official site

Community of the Beatitudes in the USA — Official site

Beatitudes editions — Official site

''Fire and Light'' — Official site

''Radio Ecclesia'' — Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Community Of The Beatitudes Christian organizations established in 1973 International associations of the faithful Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in France Beatitudes