logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
27m 36s

Heart and Soul: The ‘living saint’ who h...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Jean Vanier changed Richard and Hazel’s lives. He founded the L’Arche movement – a global network inspired by Christian teaching – where people with and without learning disabilities live together in community. During his life, Vanier was hailed as “a living saint” and “a prophet”. But shortly after his death, a deep and disturbing secret emerged – that Vanier founded L’Arche to hide a mystical sex sect, coercing and abusing at least 25 women, all without disabilities. Richard and Hazel were stunned when they discovered the truth. Now they and 150 L’Arche communities are coming to terms with what has happened.

Up next
Today
From American Pastor to Whirling Dervish
Former Christian Minister Craig Fenter was in the midst of a deep spiritual void when he first picked up a book of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s poetry in his local LA bookshop. The writings of Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic have long inspired peo ... Show More
26m 30s
Yesterday
India's sportswomen playing to be seen
How sport is giving some young women in India a way out of child marriage and allowing them to be seen.Officially, the practice of child marriage is illegal in the country. But UNICEF estimates that over 200 million girls and women in India have been married before they turned 18 ... Show More
26m 44s
Feb 2
Liberation Radio
Matthew Sweet reports from an exhibition in Sweden about American conscripts who sought refuge there during the war in Vietnam. He hears from sound artist Nhung Nguyen and film-maker Esther Johnson about their work on archival documents and extracts from the station known as Libe ... Show More
25m 4s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2017
And Then There Were Nun
What is life like for nuns and monks today? With a lack of new blood coming into the traditional monasteries and convents, Bishop Martin Shaw supports some of these aging communities in their painful final days as they are forced to leave their homes. His role as an official visi ... Show More
30m 28s
May 2022
Basic Instincts in the House of Commons
In the aftermath of recent headlines coming out of the Commons, Sarah Dunant explores sexual equality through the ages. She looks in particular at the idea that 'women are temptresses who cannot - by definition of their sex - be trusted'. "So ingrained is this within Christian cu ... Show More
10m 24s
Mar 2023
11. Christiana Edmunds
Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In the first case in her new series, Lucy explores the story of Christiana Edmunds, a respectable spinster who embarks on a mass poisoning spree when the man she loves fails to return h ... Show More
29m 20s
Dec 2018
Karen Armstrong: Steps to a Compassionate Life, Part 2
<p>Former Catholic nun, world-renowned religious scholar and author, Karen Armstrong discusses her memoir, "The Spiral Staircase." Karen discusses the details of her fascinating spiritual journey, which began when she joined a convent at the age of 17. Hoping to forge a deep conn ... Show More
34m 23s
Apr 2018
Timothy Shriver: Fully Alive, Discovering What Matters Most
<p>Oprah sits down with Timothy Shriver, the impassioned chairman of the Special Olympics and a member of the prominent Kennedy family, to talk about some of the spiritual lessons he's learned from the athletes, how courage and grit are fundamental to success, and why vulnerabili ... Show More
34m 57s
Dec 2018
Karen Armstrong: Steps to a Compassionate Life, Part 1
<p>Former Catholic nun, world-renowned religious scholar and author Karen Armstrong discusses her memoir, "The Spiral Staircase." Karen discusses the details of her fascinating spiritual journey, which began when she joined a convent at the age of 17. Hoping to forge a deep conne ... Show More
33m 27s
Oct 2023
Everything is Sacred: Native American Wisdom on Following Your Destiny, Living Joyously, Dying Fearlessly & Dancing in a World Beyond Everyday Consciousness
<p><strong>Ep. 100 (Part 1 of 2) | </strong>With extraordinary joyfulness and verve, Native American shaman&nbsp;<strong>Charles Lawrence</strong>&nbsp;tells the inspiring and fascinating tale of how as a young man, he left psychology, religion, and the white man’s domesticated w ... Show More
40m 46s
Jan 2022
Blessed
Arthur and Ben met in church in the nineties. Both men grew up thinking that they might not find a church that accepted them as gay men and that they might not even find love as gay men. But one day in the pews of St. Bart's Episcopal church they found one another and they starte ... Show More
36m 14s
Mar 2019
Nadia Bolz-Weber Is Shameless — Reconciling Sex & God With Grace
“God, please help me not be an asshole, is about as common a prayer as I pray in my life.“Nadia Bolz-Weber Today we continue my exploration of faith with one of the most fascinating spiritual leaders in America today — a Lutheran pastor and public theologian dedicated to redefini ... Show More
2h 9m