Vulnerability, Mysticism, and the Tainted Legacy of Jean Vanier

This paper examines Jean Vanier’s mystical theology of vulnerability in light of recent revelations of his tainted legacy of sexual abuse. To do so, I interrogate Vanier’s depiction of people with intellectual disabilities as uniquely revelatory due to their visible vulnerability, inviting nondisabled persons’ to recognize their own hidden vulnerabilities. Drawing on the findings of the independent study commission on his abuse, I trace the inheritance of a mystical theological worldview valorizing spiritual poverty, humility, and vulnerability, which enabled Vanier to discover in disabled people inspiration for L’Arche and a theological cover for his abuse. Ultimately, this paper explores how appeals to vulnerability often inadvertently mask power relations and abuse and reflects theologically on the broader valorization of vulnerability within disability theology and contemporary Christian thought.