De La Salle Brothers
Latin: Signum Fidei English: Sign of Faith | |
Main organ | Generalate |
---|---|
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
Website | lasalle |
The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (
In 2023 the La Salle University website stated that the Lasallian order consisted of about 3,000 Brothers, who helped in running over 1,100
A number of Lasallian institutions have been accused of, and have admitted and apologised for, long-standing and serious physical and sexual abuse against their charges.
History
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1719 | 275 | — |
1792 | 925 | +236.4% |
1819 | 2,325 | +151.4% |
1874 | 10,250 | +340.9% |
1900 | 14,000 | +36.6% |
2019 | 4,000 | −71.4% |
2021 | 3,000 | −25.0% |
In March, 1679, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle met
The order, approved by
The Order
As
During the International Year of Literacy/Schooling (1990), the
The order says that its key principles are faith in the presence of God, concern for the poor and social justice, inclusive community, respect for all people, and quality education.[15]
In 2017 the Institute had 3,800 brothers, 75% fewer than in 1965. The decline is due partly to many brothers reaching retirement age, and the small number of new recruits. In the same period the number of students in Lasallian schools increased from about 700,000 to over a million.[16]
Superiors General
The following have served as Superior General of the De La Salle Brothers:
- 1717–1720 Br. Barthélemy (Joseph Truffet), FSC
- 1720–1747 Br. Timothée (Guillaume Samson Bazin), FSC
- 1751–1767 Br. Claude (Pierre Nivet), FSC
- 1767–1777 Br. Florence (Jean Boubel), FSC
- 1777–1787 Br. Agathon (Joseph Gonlieu), FSC
- 1795–1810 Br. Fumence (Jean-Baptiste Herbet), FSC
- 1810–1822 Br. Gerbaud (Sébastien Thomas), FSC
- 1822–1830 Br. Guilluame de Jésus (François Marre), FSC
- 1830–1838 Br. Anaclet (Claude Louis Constantin), FSC
- 1838–1874 Br. Philippe (Mathieu Bransiet), FSC
- 1874–1875 Br. Jean-Olympe (Joseph Paget), FSC
- 1875–1884 Br. Irlide (Pierre Jean Cazaneuve), FSC
- 1884–1897 Br. Joseph (Joseph Marie Josserand), FSC
- 1897–1913 Br. Gabriel Marie Joseph (Joseph Marie Josserand), FSC
- 1913–1923 Br. Imier de Jésus (Antoine LaFabrègue), FSC
- 1923–1928 Br. Allais Charles (Jean Petiot), FSC
- 1928–1934 Br. Adrien (Petiot), FSC
- 1934–1940 Br. Junien Victor (Auguste Détharré), FSC
- 1940–1946 Br. Arèse-Casimir, FSC
- 1946–1952 Br. Athanase Émile (Louis-Arthur Ritman), FSC
- 1946–1956 Br. Denis-de-Jésus (Alphonse-Louis de Schepper), FSC - Vicar General
- 1956–1966: Br. Nicet Joseph Loubet, FSC
- 1966–1976: Br. Charles Henry Buttimer, FSC
- 1976–1986: Br. José Pablo Basterrechea, FSC
- 1986–2000: Br. John Johnston, FSC[17]
- 2000–2014: Br. Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, FSC
- 2014–2022: Br. Robert Schieler, FSC
- From 2022: Br. Armin Luistro, FSC[4]
Activities
Education
La Salle initiated a number of innovations in teaching. He recommended dividing up of the children into distinct classes according to their attainments. He also taught pupils to read the vernacular language.[12]
In accordance with their mission statement "to provide a human and Christian education ... especially [to] the poor" the Brothers' principal activity is education, especially of the poor. In 2021 the La Salle Worldwide website stated that the Lasallian order consists of about 3,000 Brothers, who help in running over 1,100 education centers in 80 countries with more than a million students, together with 100,000 teachers and lay associates.[8][6]
Institutions
- The Guadalupana De La Salle Sisters were founded by Br. Juan Fromental Cayroche in the Archdiocese of Mexico. They currently teach in ten countries. The motherhouse is in Mexico City.[18]
- The Congregation of the Lasallian Sisters was founded in 1966 by the Brothers of the Christian School in Vietnam to take care of the needs of poor children abandoned because of the civil war there. The office is in Bangkok.[19]
- Lasallian Volunteers are lay people who volunteer for one or two years to engage in teaching and other Lasallian activities.[20] They receive room and board and a living stipend.[21]
Protection of the environment
English Lasallian lay brother and missionary Paul McAuley went to Peru in 1995 as part of his ministry in the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and set up a school in a poor shantytown in
On 2 April 2019, his dead body was discovered in the same hostel he founded in Iquitos; his body had been burned after his death. Peru's episcopal conference praised McAuley and called on the authorities to investigate the crime.[24]
Other activities
Investment services
In 1981, the Institute started Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS),[25] a "socially responsible investing service" exclusively for Catholic organisations, saying that it "encourage[s] companies to improve policies and practices through active ownership".[26]
Winery
The Brothers arrived in Martinez, California, US, on the southern edge of the Carquinez Strait, part of the greater San Francisco Bay in 1868. In 1882 they began making wine for their own use at table and as sacramental wine. They also began to distill brandy, beginning with the pot-still production method that is used in the cognac region.[27] Their production expanded until 1920, when prohibition limited their production to wines for sacramental use.
In 1932, at the end of
The Christian Brothers winery operated under the corporate name "Mont La Salle Vineyards". In 1988 the winery employed 250 people and produced 900,000 cases of wine, 1.2 million cases of brandy, and 80,000 cases of altar wine.[27] Proceeds from sales helped to fund the Christian Brothers programs and schools, such as Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, and the care of ageing Brothers.[29]
In 1989 the vineyards were sold to
Child sexual abuse
In the Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA), an inquiry into institutional sexual and physical abuse in Northern Ireland institutions that were in charge of children from 1922 to 1995,[30] the De La Salle Brothers admitted in 2014 to the abuse of boys at two institutions: the former De La Salle Boys' Home Rubane House in Kircubbin, County Down, and St Patrick's Training School in west Belfast, and apologised to its victims. The order accepted that one of its earliest overseers engaged in sexual offences.[31] Representing the de la Salle order, Kevin Rooney QC said the brothers recognised that some of their members had caused "immense pain" to children which was "in contradiction to their vocation".[32] Senior Counsel Christine Smith QC said, "...[T]hose homes operated as outdated survivors of a bygone age."[33]
According to Tom O'Donoghue, in contrast to the more elite boarding school, "...schools for the lower social orders usually had the highest pupil-teacher ratios, resulting in many turning to corporal punishment as a behavioural management strategy". He also notes, " ...they were often... placed in charge of huge numbers of children from troubled backgrounds at a time when there was no professional child-care training."[34]
The Inquiry's first public hearings were held from January to May 2014 with the inquiry team reporting to the Executive by the start of 2016[
Brother Francis Manning FSC said that the order welcomed the inquiry.[38] Before the abuse issue had become public a Brother wrote in a letter to an alleged abuser "It is best forgotten and I have told some brothers that no reference is to be made to it among themselves or the boys. The whole affair is best dropped with the prayer that all will learn that lesson that our holy rule is very wise in its prescriptions". The order conducted dozens of internal interviews in this case, but did not report the matter to police.[39][40]
On 11 March 2022 statements of apology were made in the Northern Ireland Assembly by ministers from the five main political parties in Northern Ireland and by representatives of six institution where abuse had taken place, including Br Francis Manning representing the De La Salle Brothers.[41] Several abuse survivors and their family members were critical of the apologies that were made by the institutional representatives.[42]
In the 1960s the deputy headmaster of St Gilbert's
There were other cases with many victims in countries including Scotland (St Ninian's in Gartmore, Stirlingshire; St Joseph's in Tranent; St Mary's in Bishopbriggs),[45] Australia,[46][47] and Ireland.[48] Serious and detailed allegations about decades-old abuse have been reported in the US, with several lawsuits being settled in favour of victims.[49][50][51][52] After the scandal became widely known, branches of the Order apologised, publicly or to individual victims, for several of these cases.[43][46][48] At St William's residential school in Market Weighton, England, between 1970 and 1991 many boys were abused; 200 now-adult men have said they were abused. Abusers including the principal, James Carragher, were imprisoned in 2004 for past sexual abuse at the home. Five victims started High Court action for compensation in 2016. Four of the cases were dismissed in December 2016 The De La Salle order repeated their apologies for and condemnation of the abuse.[53] In Australia the
Investigations and trials continued into 2022 involving a number of other schools[57] and the De La Salle order has only apologised where they have been legally found guilty and not where the allegations haven't been prosecuted. This had brought about a widespread condemnation from former, allegedly abused pupils who lack the evidence to bring about a prosecution.[58]
Lasallian Saints and Blesseds
Saints
- Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (canonised on 24 May 1900)
- Bénilde Romançon (canonised on 29 October 1967)
- Miguel Febres Cordero (canonised on 21 October 1984)
- Mutien-Marie Wiaux (canonised on 10 December 1989)
- Jaime Hilario Barbal (canonised on 21 November 1999)
- Cirilo Bertrán Sanz Tejedor and 7 Companions (canonised on 21 November 1999)
- Salomone Leclercq (canonised on 16 October 2016)
Blesseds
- Julian-Nicolas Rèche (beatified on 1 November 1987)
- Jean-Bernard Rousseau (beatified on 2 May 1989)
- Diego Ventaja Milán and 8 Companions (beatified on 10 October 1993)
- Jean-Baptiste Souzy and 63 Companions (beatified on 1 October 1995)
- Leonardo Olivera Buera and 5 Companions (beatified on 11 March 2001)
- Raphaël Rafiringa (beatified on 7 June 2009)
- James Alfred Miller (beatified 7 December 2019)
See also
References
- ^ "Identity & Mission". De La Salle Philippines. 2019.
- ^ a b Lasalians, De La Salle Brothers
- ^ a b "Members of the Chapter". La Salle - 46th General Chapter. 2020.
- ^ a b "Election of the new Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools". La Salle Worldwide. Rome. 18 May 2022.
- ^ "Elección del Hermano Vicario General". La Salle - 46th General Chapter. 19 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Christian Brothers at La Salle University". La Salle University. 4 January 2023.
The Christian Brothers are at the heart of everything
- ^ Slattery, John Luke (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
The schools of the Irish Christian Brothers are of many types ... the Christian Brothers' schools ...
. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). - ^ a b "The International Lasallian Mission". La Salle Worldwide. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Morgan, G., F.S.C., Lasallian Education – 150 Years in Toronto, 2001.
- OCLC 36017191– via Google Books.
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "La Salle, St Jean Baptiste de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 231. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ a b c Joseph, Paul (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ C. Moe, "Hardly a soft landing: the first Australian foundation of the De La Salle Brothers – Armidale 1906", Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society vol 28 (2007), pp. 67–73.
- ^ "Regions – Christian Brothers Conference". Lasallian Region of North America. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "5 Core Principles". Christian Brothers Conference. Lasallian Region of North America. 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.
- ^ Susan Klemond (6 January 2016). "Christian brother reflects on life, future of Lasallian tradition". Thecatholicspirit.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ "Death of Br. John Johnston". Lasallian Family, Hong Kong. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017.
- ^ "HGS - Hermanas Guadalupanas de La Salle". www.hgs.org.mx. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ ""La Salle Sisters", La Salle.org". Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "Lasallian Volunteers – what lvs do". Lasallianvolunteers.org. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Lasallian Volunteers – benefits". Lasallianvolunteers.org. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Christian Brother found dead in Peru". The La Salle Collegian. 92 (20). Philadelphia: La Salle University: 3. 11 April 2019.
- ^ de Jersey, Marc (30 July 2010). "English Brother risks all for the Indians". Catholic Herald. Reissued 3 April 2019
- ^ Collyns, Dan (5 April 2019). "Peru: British environmental activist was dead before his body was burned". The Guardian.
- ^ "Who we are". CBIS. 10 August 2022.
- ^ CBIS: Overview 2014 (PDF) (Report). 6.4. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d Berger, Dan (17 May 1989). "Christian Bros. Winery Is Sold to Heublein". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ Saekel, Karola (3 December 2004). "Christian Brother Timothy -- pioneer in wine industry". SFGATE. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Since 1882". Mont La Salle Altar Wines. 2023.
- ^ a b "Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry - the background". BBC News. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ Crawford, Harriet (7 October 2014). "Rubane House 'like Hell upon Earth' for 69-year-old branded a liar for reporting his abuse as boy". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ Connolly, Maeve (15 January 2014). "De La Salle brothers apologise for abuse". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ McDonald, Henry (14 January 2014). "Sisters of Nazareth become second Catholic order to admit to child abuse". the Guardian.
- ISBN 978-1-137-26905-8.
- ^ "Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry tribute to witnesses". BBC News. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "ITVX - The Streaming Home For All Of ITV And So Much More!". ITVX. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "HIA: De La Salle order 'to protect innocent brothers' from Rubane House". BBC News. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ De La Salle Order Briefing. Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse Bill - Official Report (Hansard) (Report). The Northern Ireland Assembly -Committee for the Office of the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Abuse cases 'best forgotten', De La Salle brother decreed". Catholic Universe. 3 October 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Rubane House: Sex abuse inquiry 'best forgotten' said senior cleric". BBC News. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ McCormack, Jayne; Andrews, Chris (11 March 2022). "Abuse survivors hear Stormont public apology". BBC News.
- ^ Connolly, Gráinne; Glynn, Niall; McCauley, Ciaran (11 March 2022). "Abuse survivors apology delivered at Stormont (reported live)". BBC News.
- ^ a b c BBC News:Hymns and screams: Abuse at St Gilbert's approved school revealed, 1 December 2014. BBC News
- ^ "Former St Gilbert's headteacher cleared of child cruelty". BBC News. 7 November 2018.
- ^ "The Scotsman, Executive fights to halt £8.5m claim from abused former pupils, 17 January 2006". Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Two female victims received an official apology but not much compensation". brokenrites.org.au. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "Catholic church appears before Australian Royal Commission into sexual abuse". www.ncronline.org. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b ie/rpt/01-01.php Government of Ireland:Establishment of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA):The De La Salle Brothers, 1.129–1.131
- ^ NEELA BANERJEE (25 December 2004). "$6.3 Million to Be Paid to Settle Abuse Case". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ TimesUnion.com: La Salle alumnus alleges sex abuse, 22 September 2014 Troy, New York
- ^ John Simerman (26 June 2009). "Former De La Salle teacher faces new sexual abuse allegations in Minnesota". Mercury News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ PATRICK CONDON (7 December 2010). "Top Catholic School Program Concealed Sexual Abuse Knowledge". Huffington Post (from AP). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ "Victims take church to court over St William's school sex abuse". BBC News. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ Final Report (Report). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Retrieved 14 December 2015. Page with links to full final report.
- ^ Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse at Sydney, Australia, PUBLIC HEARING INTO THE RESPONSE OF TOWARDS HEALING, paragraph 56, 9 December 2013
- ^ Robertson, Josh; Zwartz, Henry (26 July 2020). "Justice Denied". ABC News.
- ^ Hunt, Jane (19 November 2021). "Former RE teacher to face trial over sex assault charges". East Anglian Daily Times.
- ^ "St Joseph's College". Pat Mills. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
External links
- LaSalle.org, Web site of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools – La Salle
- De La Salle Christian Brothers, Province of Great Britain Archived 3 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Brief history of the Lasallian Institute
- Works by Christian Brothers at Project Gutenberg
- Internet Archive