VERSAILLES (FRANCE)
La Croix International [Montrouge Cedex, France]
May 30, 2025
By Héloïse de Neuville
Since the first sexual abuse allegations surfaced in 1991 against the founder of Fondacio, the lay community—now marking its 50th anniversary—has yet to fully confront its past. In 2024, current leaders launched an independent review commission, which is expected to release its findings in June 2026.
A “cloak of silence.” As Fondacio prepares to mark its 50th anniversary May 30, that’s the phrase current leaders use to describe the long-standing hush surrounding the early history of their Christian lay community.
To understand the silence surrounding allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse by the movement’s founder, one must go back half a century. The story begins in 1974 in Poitiers. Jean-Michel Rousseau, a newly converted Catholic in his thirties and a Ph.D. in economics, launched what he called the “Christian Community for Formation.” He had returned from the United States a few years earlier, deeply changed by his encounter with the Charismatic Renewal, a spiritual revival movement emphasizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At the time, this “new community” embodied the fresh energy of French Catholicism, fueled by a generation of charismatic founders reshaping Christian engagement.
‘A seal of silence on the women’
Rousseau’s vision was to form Christians who were committed to engaging with the world. And his charisma drew people in. Within 15 years, the movement grew to nearly 3,000 members across 30 dioceses, including 250 full-time members. But in 1991, everything unraveled. Following a complaint from a retreatant, Rousseau, then a married layman, admitted to having sexual relationships with about ten women under the guise of spiritual direction. He was forced to resign and left the movement he founded, leaving behind a shattered community and a silence that persisted until the early 2020s. Further reading: Work in confronting sexual abuse far from over
“Testimonies we’ve received indicate that Jean-Michel Rousseau committed acts of sexual abuse, possibly including rape, against adult women within a broader pattern of manipulation and abuse of power,” said Benoît Vignon, co-president of Fondacio International. According to consistent accounts gathered by the community, Rousseau “imposed a seal of silence on the women,” convincing them that this “sexual and spiritual practice of a new world was God’s will” and that “non-initiates could never understand.”
Now, in his 80s, the founder served as a priest in the Orthodox Church until his retirement. He has never faced legal consequences. Two complaints alleging sexual misconduct were dismissed in 2023 due to the statute of limitations. Contacted by La Croix, the retired priest categorically denied the claims: “These allegations do not match my experience and have been distorted.”
A governance crisis in the making?
After the initial shock of the allegations, a long period of silence followed. “In 1991, nothing was shared about the severity of the sexual abuse or the suffering involved. No long-term support was offered to the victims,” the community now acknowledges. Despite this, the leadership team at the time, supported by three bishops, launched a “substantial review of the community’s spirituality and governance,” eventually securing diocesan canonical status in 1995 and pontifical recognition in 2008. Still, the abuse allegations remained unaddressed, justified at the time as a matter of respecting the “internal forum,” or personal conscience of those involved. Further reading: Sexual abuse in the church: Key findings of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors report
It wasn’t until 2020, amid growing public attention to sexual abuse in the church, that Fondacio established an independent listening unit. “That opened the door for survivors to speak out, bringing long-buried stories to light,” the community notes. In 2021, four declared victims formed the group Choose the Light to amplify their voices.
Could this entrenched culture of silence and lack of transparency about the movement’s past have paved the way for other crises, especially those related to leadership, that have rocked the organization since the early 2000s? That’s one of the questions an independent study commission, launched by Fondacio in 2024, is expected to explore. The commission has been tasked with offering recommendations for the movement’s current and future direction.
Call for testimonies launched in May
An earlier commission, accused of bias, failed in 2021 to carry out this truth-seeking mission. The goals for the new commission, led by Brigitte Debernardy, a senior military auditor, are ambitious. “We want to shed concrete light on Fondacio’s history since 1974, better understand the mechanisms of domination and how abuse took root, make recommendations for prevention, analyze Jean-Michel Rousseau’s discourse, and welcome victims’ testimonies,” said Marie Levier, co-leader of Fondacio France. Further reading: How victims of Church abuse are reclaiming their minds and autonomy
As of now, five victims have come forward. All have received restorative justice support funded by the church. A call for additional testimonies was posted on Fondacio’s website May 29.
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Fondacio Marks 50 Years
For several months, Fondacio, which claims 3,000 active members, has been celebrating its 50th anniversary with events across the 20 countries where it operates. The festivities will culminate May 29–31 in Angers, in western France, with the “Festival of the Living”—three days of workshops, performances, and prayer. The gathering will coincide with the inauguration of the Esvière site, dedicated to integral ecology, after seven years of development.
“We felt it was important to mark our 50th anniversary, while fully recognizing that we are also confronting our history through this commission. We owe it to those who suffered within Fondacio,” said co-president Benoît Vignon.