Movement 134

celebrate together, have fun together, and give thanks
together because we're human beings.
JS: What gives you hope?
JV: For me I can say it's about living day-to-day. I'd
like to add: and celebrating life.
What gives me hope is the assistants who come
and who say to me, "I feel transformed." It's people
with disabilities with whom I'm living and I see they
too have been transformed. So the hope I have is the
possibility of human beings to be transformed. And
that transformation isn't just a question of doing
a bit of theology. It doesn't mean taking one's part
and singing in liturgies. It's about the discovery that
we human beings, we become fulfilled as we enter
into relationships of compassion. We enter into a
relationship with people that we have considered
no good, and who are lonely, and things then begin
to change. Hope rises up because we see that human
beings are made not to do beautiful things, but to
live relationships, and live universal relationships.
Charles de Foucauld talks about becoming a "universal
brother," and becoming a universal brother or sister
through relationships with people who have been
pushed down.
JS: Could you talk a bit about L'Arche's relationship
with the Church?
JV: There's something to say that the church encourages
us, but personally I get upset when I hear people
saylng, "You're doing good work." I'm not interested
in doing good work. What is interesting for me is a
vision which is ecclesial, social, a way of relating. As I
say, LArche is not a school of theology. It's a school of
relationships. And it's not a school of prayer, though it
leads to prayer. It can lead to theology. But it's essentially
a place where we're touching our brokenness. So
the heart of LArche, which I think is the heart of the
Gospel, is humility. And we're not there to tell people
what to do. We're there to enter into relationships
with people and the church can very quickly fall into
the trap of telling people what to do: what is right,
what is wrong, in the various rules on morality, of
liturgy and you can see a need sometimes for church
to do that, but if that is done in such a way which is
different to the washing of the feet, it can be seen as
a quest for power.
We have been lucky; first of all there are many
priests who are standing up, and wonderful bishops
who have been close to us. But we are not legally or
economically a religious organisation or a catholic
organisation. We're an organisation which is able to
move into countries where there are Muslims and
Hindus and we're not seen as a Christian organisation
we're seen as an organisation of truthfulness and
-
healing.
JS: What do you think that Jesus'model of leadership
humbling himself has to say to politics?
JV: What one sees in politics is so much fighting!
But to rise to the top means that we are people of
extreme wisdom, who are not fighters. But most politicians
have become fighters. Men of ambition. So
the implications of LArche... we like to say, "Change
the world, one heart at a time." Which is a very small
way of doing things. What I see happening now... I see
in a certain number of towns, Lille and Paris. There,
associations have started to create people who are
off the streets and they see that it's living together.
There's a movement for people with mental sickness
in Besangon, and they're creating these little homes,
living together. So there's a sort of movement, and
LArche, I think, is seen as a model that healing comes
from living together.
But it's not just healing. What would be the
situation in a place like Israel,/Palestine? What I see
is little groups of Palestinians meeting little groups of
Jews. They can't bring down the wall. They can't. But
they can get to discover their common humanity. The
same thing I see with groups in Northern Ireland: the
wall is maybe finished, but are people really coming
together? People coming together, Protestants and
Catholics, to discover their common humanity. And
I see that happening also in Rwanda: Tutsi and Hutu
women are meeting together to share.
So I think there's a model that must move
forward, that peace comes as we discover our common
humanity. Peace does not come when I am imposing
my beliefs on you, or that my culture is better than
your culture. Everything has to begin with mutual
trust, mutual understanding and therefore mutual
growth. We grow together.
And there's something new that's happening,
the whole question of the importance of the human
person this wasn't around before the 1940s or
-
1950s. There is a movement now which will never
permit at least visible slavery. There are still children
who are taking up arms, there are still women coming
from Asia or North Africa and into prostitution. There
are Mafia organisations.
And there is no longer a real dialogue with children
about what it means to be human.
So there's something growing, which will take a
number of years more.
JS: Many people would have given up a long time
ago. What keeps you going?
JV: Well first of all, I'm in a place where I am happy
and I feel loved. Something changed: I used to be more
or less in charge. But now I sense that they feel responsible
for me. Lulu will say, "You're looking tired, you
must go to bed," or "You haven't taken your sleep after
lunch." There's a mutuality because I'm growing older,
because they can see me weaker, there's a mutuality
of trust, and of love and of looking after each other.
And all of these people are people that have suffered
a great deal, had no real family experience. There's a
sort of growth. We're happy to be together. So LArche
is a place of celebration. You couldn't think of a better
place.
JonathanSpoor
is a student at the
University ofYork,
currently ensconced
in Paris.
6 Movement
i