The January 2023 Study Commission Report urged L’Arche to remain vigilant, and we welcome any new information that comes to light related to potential abuse. We understand that the Commission Report may help people who have suffered abuse in the past, or have information about it, to speak out. We are open to the possibility that abuse may be reported beyond what is in the scope of the Commission Report, and that this might involve people with disabilities.   

Since the publication of the Study Commission Report, there has been press coverage in France of an allegation that a man with disabilities suffered a sexual assault in the early days of L’Arche there. Evidence of this allegation was received by L’Arche in 2019 and was passed to the French police and the Study Commission, with information about action taken by L’Arche in the 1980s against an assistant with a family relationship to Thomas Philippe. Since the Commission found no evidence that this incident was part of the pattern of abuse involving the sectarian group around Thomas Philippe and Jean Vanier, they chose not to include it in their Report, and concluded they had found no evidence of such abuse involving people with learning disabilities. 

L’Arche remains committed to receive, act on and learn from any new information that comes to light, so that L’Arche today is as safe and healthy as possible. There are two primary ways for people who have information to share it with us: 

• For recent and current information or concerns about abuse, we encourage people to use the UK reporting channel at [email protected] or the international mechanism [email protected]. More information is available here: Raising a concern or making a complaint | L'Arche (larche.org.uk) 
  
  
• For testimonies about historic situations –  directly or indirectly related to the facts described in the Study Commission report - a new cell is being set up by L'Arche International, made up of people outside L'Arche or operational responsibility in L’Arche. Testimonies will be received in strict compliance with the rules of confidentiality. We will provide more details of how to contact this cell as soon as they are available. 

John Casson
L’Arche UK, National Leader
March 2023