Jean Marie Joseph Philippe (18 March 1905 – 4 February 1993), in religion Thomas Philippe, was a French Dominican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Along with

Jean Vanier Jean Vanier (, September 10, 1928 – May 7, 2019) was a Canadian Catholic philosopher and theologian. In 1964, he founded L'Arche, an international federation of communities spread over 37 countries for people with developmental disabilities a ...

, he co-founded the communities of

L'Arche L'Arche is an international federation of non-profits working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Simi, and Philip Seux, L'Arc ...

, an organisation which helps support people with

mental disabilities Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie * ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda * ''Mental'', a 2014 Od ...

. Both he and Vanier were later found to be sexual abusers. Philippe also taught

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and conducted preaching, retreats, and gave

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

(the latter being the setting of his abusive behavior).

Biography

Philippe was the third of twelve children born to Henri Ignace Louis Joseph Philippe (1875–1959) and Élisabeth Marie Joseph Dehau (1878–1968). He taught

Le Saulchoir Le Saulchoir is a Dominican school of theology in the order's province of France, established 1904. After the expulsion from France in 1880, French Dominican friars went into exile in Spain and Austria; they were allowed to return in 1895, estab ...

and at the Angelicum (the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

in Rome), then animated different

religious communities Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

, including l'Eau Vive (living water). It was through the l'Eau Vive community in 1950 that Phillipe met

and founded the

l'Arche L'Arche is an international federation of non-profits working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Simi, and Philip Seux, L'Arc ...

community in 1964. Vanier called Philippe his "spiritual father". In 1963, Thomas was the chaplain for Val Fleuri (flowered valley), a community of men with mental disabilities in

Trosly-Breuil Trosly-Breuil () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. In 1964, Canadian Jean Vanier invited two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, to leave the institutions where they lived and live with him in Trosly-Breuil. Their time tog ...

. Val Fleuri was later integrated into l'Arche. Thomas Philippe is one of

Marthe Robin Marthe Robin (13 March 1902 in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, Drôme, France – 6 February 1981 in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure) was a French Roman Catholic mystic and stigmatist and foundress of the Foyers de charité ("Charity homes") association. She ...

's relatives. His conversations with Tim Guénard led to Guénard's conversion to

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 ...

. Philippe died on 4 February 1993 at the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

of Saint-Jodard, where the Brothers of Saint John looked after him in his

old age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

. It was his brother,

Marie-Dominique Philippe Marie-Dominique Philippe (8 September 1912 in Nord (French department) – 26 August 2006 in Loire) was a Dominican philosopher and theologian. He was ordained in 1936. He was a professor of philosophy at the University of Fribourg from 1945 to 1 ...

, who discovered him dead and then celebrated his

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

in Trosly-Breuil. He was buried near the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

at the Ferme de

, where he had inspired Jean Vanier in the founding of the communities of l'Arche.

Strife at Le Saulchoir

Paul Weindling Paul Julian Weindling (born July 1953) is Wellcome Trust research professor in the history of medicine at Oxford Brookes University. He joined Oxford Brookes University in 1998 as Research Professor in the History of Medicine. From 1978 until 199 ...

, in his 2010 book, said:

Thomas Philippe ... inspired vibrant spirituality and social activism, standing in the Dominican tradition of saving souls through preaching while looking to the very earliest Christian communities.
...
Père Thomas clashed with the philosophically innovative Père
Marie-Dominique Chenu Marie-Dominique Chenu (; 7 January 1895, Soisy-sur-Seine, Essonne – 11 February 1990, Paris) was a progressive Catholic theologian and one of the founders of the reformist journal '' Concilium''. Early life Chenu was born on 7 January 1895 at ...
, who was Régent of Studies at the
Studium Generale is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe. Overview There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where stude ...
of Le Saulchoir from 1932 until debunked in 1942. ... In 1937 Chenu's tract ''Une école de théologie: Le Saulchoir'' was condemned for challenging papal authority and split the ranks of the
Thomists Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions ...
at the Saulchoir. ... The Angelicum in Rome ordered young Père Thomas "to put things right" by debunking Père Chenu. ... Thomas Philippe ousted Chenu as Régent at Le Saulchoir in June 1942. ... Chenu's condemnation meant his fellow Dominicans resented Père Thomas, who tried to bring about a fusion of the metaphysical and the mystical, but he realized that he could not change the rank and file at Le Saulchoir, who were loyal to Chenu.

Sexual abuse of nuns

Thomas Philippe and his brother,

(also a priest) were accused of having sexual relations with several nuns for more than 20 years. In 1956, following a canonical investigation, Rome forbade Philippe to exercise any priestly ministry and in particular spiritual guidance, but Dominican archives show that he ignored that prohibition. In 2015, a second canonical instruction validated by Mgr

Pierre d'Ornellas Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, said that Philippe was guilty of sexual abuse in the context of spiritual guidance of adult women. According to this document, fourteen people (two witnesses and twelve victims) were heard, confirming the facts of abuse which took place from the 1970s until 1991. “Father Thomas committed sexual acts against adult women, by which he said to seek and communicate a mystical experience”, reads the document "They attest to a psychological and spiritual hold on these women to whom he asked for silence because, according to him, this corresponded to special graces 'that no one could understand' ". The canonical investigation confirmed that these testimonies were trustworthy. In early 2016, the association Aid to Victims of deviant Religious movements in Europe and their Families (AVREF) published the testimony of a former Carmelite nun. In the document, she tells in a detailed manner the story of her sexual relationships with Philippe. The publication of this first testimony prompted two other women to testify in turn a few weeks later with AVREF in which they very explicitly confirm that Philippe had sexual relations with them. The L'Arche community recognized the truth of the facts and communicated on the L'Arche international website. Several nuns -- victims of the sexual abuse of Phillipe and his brother (Marie-Dominique Philippe, also a priest) -- testified in a documentary broadcast on

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

and on

Radio Télévision Suisse Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

(RTS). In February 2020, L'Arche International issued its ''Summary Report'', being a summary of the full report by GCPS Consulting (a UK-based group with expertise in the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse) and the historical work by Antoine Mourges, concerning alleged or proven sexual abuse of women by Thomas Philippe and Jean Vanier. A defense of Thomas Philippe and Marie-Dominique Philippe has been published online by their niece Marie Philippe.

Books

In English

* 384 pages. * The Fire of Contemplation: A Guide for Interior Souls, translated and edited by sister Verda Clare Doran, CSC. New York, Alba House, 1981. * Forewords by Henri J. M. Nouwen and

. 144 pages. * 175 pages.

In French

* Prayer, 1974. * The Heart of God, the Heart of Man, Trosly-Breuil, Les Chemins de l'Arche-la Ferme, 1987, 204 p. * The wheat is already white for the harvest: the Lion of Judah at the heart of a new community, Paris, Le Sarment / Fayard / Éditions du Lion de Juda, 1987, 207 p. * Fidelity to the Holy Spirit, Nouan-le-Fuzelier, Éditions du Lion de Juda, 1988, 281 p. * Crumbs for all: advice for the interior life and prayer of the heart, Paris, Éditions Saint-Paul, 1994, 219 p. * The quarter of an hour of prayer, Paris, Éditions Saint-Paul, 1994, 31 p. * 31 pages. * Paths of light in children, Paris, Éditions Saint-Paul, 1994, 31 p. * The awakening to the love of the little one, Paris, Éditions Saint-Paul, 1994, 31 p.

In Polish

* Wytrwała modlitwa, 1992. * Wierność Duchowi Świętemu, 1994. * Drogi światła u dziecka, 1998. * Nowa dojrzałość u najstarszych, 1998. * Czas żywotnych sił u nastolatka, 1998. * Mądrość różańca, 2002. * Obieram Cię dzisiaj, Maryjo, 2002. * Okruchy: rady dotyczące życia wewnetrznego i modlitwy serca, 2002.