Jean Marie Joseph Philippe (18 March 1905 – 4 February 1993), professionally known as 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. 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 ...

, he co-founded

L'Arche L'Arche ("The Ark") is an international federation of non-profit organisations working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Si ...

, an organisation which helps support people with

mental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

. Both he and Vanier were later found to be sexual abusers. Alongside teaching

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, Philippe conducted retreats (at which his sexual abuse cases took place) 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 ...

Biography

Philippe was the third of twelve children born to Henri Ignace Louis Joseph Philippe (1875–1959) and Élisabeth Marie Joseph Dehau (1878–1968). The Philippes were distantly related to French mystic

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 Church, Roman Catholic mysticism, mystic and stigmatist and foundress of the :fr:Foyers de charité ...

. Elisabeth's brother Pierre Dehau, a Dominican, lived with the family and acted as tutor to the children. Eight of the children later entered religious life, with five of them, including Philippe and his brother

Marie-Dominique Philippe Marie-Dominique Philippe, OP (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 ...

, joining the Dominicans. Philippe was ordained a priest in 1929, taking the name Pere Thomas. In 1938, he had a so-called "spiritual experience" at Rome while contemplating the painting of

Mater Admirabilis ''Mater Admirabilis'' is a fresco depicting the Virgin Mary, in the monastery of the Trinità dei Monti, in Rome. It was painted in 1844 by a young French artist, Pauline Perdrau, and has been associated with several miracles. October 20 is the Fe ...

, which was the beginning of a process whereby he developed a heterodox and sexually abusive theology based on "Marian Maximalism". This was developed from a premise that Jesus and his mother Mary had been in an incestuous sexual relationship. He taught

Le Saulchoir Le Saulchoir is a Dominican school of theology in the order's province of France, established in 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, es ...

and at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

in Rome, before starting various religious communities, including L'Eau Vive (living water). It was through the L'Eau Vive community in 1950 that Phillipe met

and founded L'Arche 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 ...

. Val Fleuri was later integrated into L'Arche. His conversations with Tim Guénard led to Guénard's conversion to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. 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. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

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

old age Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

. His brother Marie-Dominique discovered him dead and later 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, where he was buried.

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 Catholic theologian and one of the founders of the reformist journal '' Concilium''. Early life Chenu was born on 7 January 1895 at Soisy-su ...
, 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 stud ...
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 which 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, Thomas's disputed questions ...
at the Saulchoir. ... The
Angelicum The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...
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 adult women

Thomas Philippe and his brother

(also a priest) were accused of having sexual relations with several women over a period of more than 20 years. In the early 1950s, after complaints from two women, Philippe was ordered to leave the L'Eau Vive center and travel to Rome for a canonical investigation. Following this investigation, in 1956 the Vatican forbade Philippe to exercise any priestly ministry and in particular spiritual guidance, due to Philippe's teaching of false mysticism and associated deviant sexual practices. Dominican archives show that Philippe ignored this prohibition. Although the Vatican dissolved L'Eau Vive, Philippe continued to run it clandestinely through his protégé Jean Vanier. The two men later formed L'Arche at Trosly-Breuil and Philippe resumed his priestly activities, including the spiritual direction of men and women. In 2015, a second canonical instruction validated by

Pierre d'Ornellas Pierre Paul Oscar d'Ornellas (born 9 May 1953) is a French Roman Catholic prelate. He has been the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol and Saint-Malo, Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol and Saint-Malo since 2007. References

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 (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, stated 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. The document states: “Father Thomas committed sexual acts against adult women, by which he said to seek and communicate a mystical experience ... 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, who recounted in detail the story of her sexual relationship with Philippe. The publication of this first testimony prompted two other women to testify to AVREF in turn a few weeks later, explicitly confirming that Philippe also had sexual relations with them. The L'Arche community recognized the truth of the facts and published them on the L'Arche international website. Several nuns - victims of the sexual abuse of Phillipe and his brother - testified in a documentary broadcast on

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

and on

Radio Télévision Suisse The Radio Télévision Suisse (; "Swiss Radio Television"), shortened to RTS, is a subsidiary of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), operating in French-speaking Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2010 by a merger of Radio Suis ...

(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.