LE HAVRE (FRANCE)
La Croix International [France]
October 23, 2023
By Céline Hoyeau
Four former members of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem denounce excesses of founder Odile Dupont, which they claim led to a system of control in the name of unreasonable obedience to the Virgin Mary
In January 2021, the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem opened a complaints center to hear from alleged victims of abuse in their community since its founding in the 1950s. Far from “carrying out justice and reparation” as announced, this center has been seen by former members, who have been trying to alert the Church for nearly 15 years, as a “smokescreen” and a new attempt to discredit their testimony.
Therefore, they entrusted their testimonies and the task of investigating the alleged dysfunctions of the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem since its origins, to Blandine de Dinechin, a former journalist who worked on spiritual abuse. According to them, these issues stem from the excesses of the founder, Odile Dupont (1922-1999), known as Sister Marie, who served as prioress for 48 years. This book presents an unprecedented and highly critical portrait of the founder.
A charismatic personality as the founder
Born in 1922 in Le Havre, a major port city in the Normandy region of northern France, Odile Dupont made an unsuccessful attempt to join the Dominican order before establishing a small community at the behest of the Dominican Ceslas Minguet, who aimed to establish an order dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Monastic Family of Bethlehem that includes the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem and the Monastic Brothers of Bethlehem, practices the Carthusian spirituality.
The congregation recruited extensively and now includes more than 500 contemplative sisters and around 30 brothers. That “success” owes much to the charismatic personality of Sister Marie, described as being excellent at getting what she wants from bishops, the Vatican, and even the prior general of the Carthusians who entrusted her with monasteries. The testimonies, including that of the former prior of the Monastic Brothers of Bethlehem, also show a prioress who allegedly imposed a life of austerity on her sisters, from which she herself seemed to exempt herself regularly.
An investigation with a negative bias
The investigation reveals a system of control described as a “slow, deep, and complete depersonalization.” The testimonies of former members all converge on similar allegations of spiritual abuse — they were led to relinquish their reason in the name of radical obedience to the Virgin Mary, depriving them of a genuine spiritual life to adopt instead to the founder’s personal preferences. The investigation also criticizes the culpable silences, such as the long-kept secret about the suicide of Sister Miryah, a 24-year-old Polish member who self-immolated in 1998.
While the Monastic Family of Bethlehem has undertaken various efforts to reform itself in recent years, there’s no doubt that it will benefit from this investigation, even though it is biased because it only relies on the testimony of these four witnesses without presenting alternative perspectives. This investigation is valuable for helping the organization break free from certain toxic legacies of its founding.
L’Art et le Drame du trop. Sœur Marie et Bethléem, de Blandine de Dinechin (L’Harmattan, 274 p., 28 €)
“L’Art et le Drame du trop. Sœur Marie et Bethléem” translates to “The Art and Drama of Excess: Sister Marie and Bethlehem” in English is a book written by Blandine de Dinechin. It is available for €28 and consists of 274 pages. The book delves into the story of Sister Marie and the Bethlehem religious community.