Points Cœur

Points Cœur
Formation1990
TypeNon-governmental organization
Legal statusActive
PurposeHumanitarian aid, visiting service among the poor
Headquarters40 route Eugénie, Vieux-Moulin, France
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
French
Websitepointscoeur.org
RemarksNo canonical connection to the Catholic Church since 2020

Points Cœur is a French non-governmental organization founded in 1990 by Thierry de Roucy as an international visiting service among the poor. It was associated with a Catholic ecclesiastical community of the same name, whose priestly branch was dissolved in 2017 and whose sisters' branch was dissolved in 2020. The ecclesiastical community voted to dissolve itself in 2020 with a three-quarter majority.

The civil association continues to operate in more than 20 countries, including a French association of the same name, but has no canonical connection to the Catholic Church.[1] Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin confirmed this in a letter to the Bishops' Conference of France in 2023.[2]

History

Points Cœur traces its origins to January 4, 1990, when Thierry de Roucy, then Superior General of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus and Mary, reported receiving an inner call during communal prayer at the Ourscamp Abbey in France to found small communities of young people among the poor. De Roucy described his inspiration as rooted in the spirituality of Thomas Philippe, the Dominican friar whose courses he had attended at L'Arche in Trosly-Breuil and whom he considered his spiritual father.[3] Philippe had been subject to repeated prohibitions by the Holy Office since 1956 for sexual abuse; later investigations confirmed that he had sexually abused women in the context of spiritual direction.[4] His intention was to offer friendship and consolation to the poor, and especially to abandoned or suffering children.[5] In October 1994, de Roucy opened the Institut Thomas Philippe, a center for philosophical and theological formation whose students studied the works and unpublished courses of Philippe.[6]

The first two houses were established in Argentina and Brazil in 1990 and were run by eleven volunteers. In 1992, the civil association Points Cœur was founded in France as the legal framework for the work's activities. Between 1992 and 1999, the volunteer service expanded to 15 further countries. In 1997, the first house in France was opened.[7] In 1999, 150 volunteers from 15 countries were deployed in 20 countries.[8]

By the time of its 28th anniversary in 2018, Points Cœur had grown to 40 houses in 26 countries and had sent more than 2,000 volunteers since its foundation. At that time, the work counted 87 consecrated lay members, 40 sisters and postulants, and 20 priests of the Molokai Fraternity. Every week, volunteers visited hospitals, prisons, orphanages and care homes in several dozen countries. [9]

Founder's conviction

On 21 June 2011, de Roucy was convicted by the Ecclesiastical Court of Lyon of sexual abuse, abuse of power, and absolution of an accomplice. Hoyeau notes that the proceedings revealed a power structure extending beyond the sexual abuse itself: de Roucy served simultaneously as the community's superior and as confessor to its individual members, a dual role that canon law (CIC can. 984 §2) explicitly prohibits from being used in external governance.[10] The sentence included a three-year ban from hearing confessions of Points Cœur members and an obligation to pay €60,000 in compensation to the victim. The conviction was initially protected by pontifical secrecy. On 9 April 2013, La Croix was the first national newspaper to report on the conviction.[11] The conviction was confirmed on appeal by the ecclesiastical court of Montpellier in 2015.

In early 2016, the Bishop of Toulon Dominique Rey suspended de Roucy for disobedience after he refused to return to his diocese. The Vatican removed him from the clerical state in 2018.[12]

Canonical investigations and dissolution

A first canonical investigation had been opened in 2005. A second investigation in 2014, led by Dominican theologian Loïc-Marie Le Bot, found serious structural problems in the movement, including an excessive centralization of authority around the founder, deficiencies in the teaching on authority and spiritual fatherhood, a tendency toward self-referentiality and mistrust toward the Church, and inadequate formation of members.[13][14] Ecclesiastical commissioners were appointed to oversee reform, but Bishop Rey and the Roman authorities noted "serious dysfunctions, a number of deviations, and a profound lack of ecclesial transparency" that required deep reform — work that, in their assessment, was never completed. The Bishops' Conference of France drew attention to "the risk of seeing these structures continue under other forms, in other places, thus evading the work of refoundation and reform that was asked of them."[15]

Points Cœur was stripped of its canonical status in 2020; it continued to describe itself as a 'Catholic NGO'.[16] On 7 August 2023, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin wrote to the president of the Bishops' Conference of France, reporting that Points Cœur and Les Servantes de la Présence de Dieu "have no more canonical connection with the Church" despite continuing to operate as NGOs. Parolin noted that on French territory the organizations continued to present themselves as ecclesial realities — with members wearing religious dress, proposing a path of consecrated life to young people, and adopting forms of life typical of a religious community — and stated that "this attitude does not fail to cause scandal among the faithful and the victims." He instructed diocesan bishops that they "cannot in any case reconstitute the suppressed Associations, either in another form or under another name", and must ensure that, if the organizations survive as NGOs, they do not present themselves as religious communities or offer activities of an ecclesial nature.[2]

Following the dissolution, civil associations continuing the work of Points Cœur under various names remained active in at least 23 countries (see Civil associations below).

Former ecclesiastical branches

After Points-Cœur, Thierry de Roucy created three associations of priests and nuns which in 2017 had about one hundred members. All three branches were subsequently dissolved.

The Molokai Fraternity, founded in 1995, brought together seminarians and priests at the service of the Points-Cœur mission, under the name of Saint Damien of Molokai, "the Apostle of the lepers". It was dissolved by a bishop's decree of 6 July 2017, confirmed by Rome in June 2018.[17]

Founded in 1994, the Handmaids of the Presence of God was the religious branch of Points-Cœur, bringing together women who lived the charism of Points-Cœur according to the apostolic religious state. At its height, the congregation comprised 33 sisters of 7 different nationalities, living in small communities in France, Peru, El Salvador and Argentina. It was dissolved on 8 March 2020.[18]

The Saint-Maximilien-Kolbe Fraternity gathered lay people who lived the charism of Points-Cœur in the world, under the name of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. The private association of the faithful encompassing this and the other lay activities of Points-Cœur voted to self-dissolve on 1 April 2020.[19]

US affiliate

The US affiliate, originally incorporated as Heart's Home USA, was established in Brooklyn, New York, and was featured in The New York Times in 2012.[20] According to tax filings, de Roucy remained listed as Chairman of the Board of Heart's Home USA as late as 2014.[21] According to the same filings, the organization adopted the name Con-solatio in 2021.[21]

Con-solatio sends volunteers aged 18–35 on missions of 14 to 24 months to impoverished neighborhoods in 18 countries and holds the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.[22]

Civil associations

Following the dissolution of the ecclesiastical community in 2020, the existing civil associations in various countries continued their work. The following table lists the known civil associations that emerged from the Points Cœur network. Information is based on various sources and may vary.[23][24][25]

Civil associations emerging from Points Cœur
CountryNameWebsite
ArgentinaPuntos Corazónpuntoscorazon.org.ar
BrazilPresença e Amizadepresencaeamizade.org
ChilePuntos Corazónpuntoscorazon.cl
Costa RicaPuntos Corazón–
EcuadorPuntos Corazón–
El SalvadorPuntos Corazón–
FrancePoints Cœurpointscoeur.org
Germany / AustriaOffenes Herz e.V.offenesherz.de
GreeceΣΠΙΤΙ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ–
HondurasPuntos Corazón–
IndiaHeart's Home–
ItalyPunto Cuorepuntocuore.org (no longer active)
Japan心の港 – Heart's Home Japan–
CubaPuntos Corazón–
PeruMisión y Compasiónmisionycompasion.org.pe
PhilippinesTahanan ng Puso–
PolandDomy Sercadomyserca.pl
RomaniaPuncte Inimăpuncteinimaromania.org
SenegalPoints Cœur–
ThailandPoints Cœur–
UkraineДім серця–
UruguayPuntos Corazón–
USACon-solatiocon-solatio.org

Further reading

  • Hoyeau, Céline (2021). La trahison des pères. Emprise et abus dans les communautés nouvelles (in French). Paris: Bayard. ISBN 978-2227498709.
  • Con-Solatio Missionaries (2021). Flournoy, Anna (ed.). Come Abide: Con-solatio, a Ministry of Presence. Angelico Press. ISBN 978-1621388067.
  • Œuvre collective (2021). Reste avec nous (in French). Chora. ISBN 978-8831414005.
  • Punto Cuore, ed. (2021). Un altro viaggio (in Italian). Chora. ISBN 978-8831414128.

References

  1. ↑ "Le Diocèse de Fréjus-Toulon s'inquiète de " dérives " au sein de Points-Cœur - Diocèse de Fréjus-Toulon". frejustoulon.fr/ (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  2. 1 2 "Lettre du Cardinal Parolin au sujet des associations Points-Coeur et les Servantes de la Présence de Dieu". Église catholique en France (in French). 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  3. ↑ Hoyeau, Céline (2021). La trahison des pères. Emprise et abus dans les communautés nouvelles (in French). Paris: Bayard. pp. 299–301. ISBN 978-2227498709.
  4. ↑ Commission d'étude mandatée par L'Arche internationale (2023-01-30). Emprise et abus, enquête sur Thomas Philippe, Jean Vanier et L'Arche (1950-2019) (PDF) (Report). p. 705.
  5. ↑ "Points-Cœur". www.laici.va. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  6. ↑ Hoyeau, Céline (2021). La trahison des pères. Emprise et abus dans les communautés nouvelles (in French). Paris: Bayard. pp. 299–301. ISBN 978-2227498709.
  7. ↑ "Puntos Corazón". Catholic.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  8. ↑ "Puntos Corazón: encontrarse con Dios en los barrios marginales". COPE (in Spanish). 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  9. ↑ "Points-Cœur en quelques chiffres". Terre de Compassion (in French). 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  10. ↑ Hoyeau, Céline (2021). La trahison des pères. Emprise et abus dans les communautés nouvelles (in French). Paris: Bayard. ISBN 978-2227498709.
  11. ↑ "Le fondateur de Points Cœur reconnu coupable d'abus sexuel". La Croix (in French). 2013-04-09. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  12. ↑ "P. Thierry de Roucy, fondateur de Points Cœur, renvoyé de l'état clérical". La Croix (in French). 2018-06-27. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Toulon : l'ONG catholique Points-Cœur placée sous surveillance". France 3. 2016-02-16.
  14. ↑ "Points-Cœur (La Fraternité Molokai)". AVREF (in French). 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  15. ↑ "Au sujet de l'ONG Points-Cœur". Conférence des évêques de France (in French). 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  16. ↑ Heneghan, Tom (2 November 2023). ""French bishops warned not to fall for suppressed 'Catholic NGO'"". The Tablet. The International Catholic News Weekly
  17. ↑ "Points-Cœur (La Fraternité Molokai)". AVREF (in French). 2026-04-08. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  18. ↑ "Points-Cœur (La Fraternité Molokai)". AVREF (in French). 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  19. ↑ "Communiqué 01 avril 2020". Terre de Compassion (in French). 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  20. ↑ "Nestled in the Projects and Nourishing Souls". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  21. 1 2 "Con Solatio (formerly Heart's Home USA)". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  22. ↑ "About". Con-solatio. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  23. ↑ "Placówki partnerskie". Domy Serca (in Polish). Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  24. ↑ "Nous sommes présents". Points Cœur (in French). Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  25. ↑ "Freiwilligendienst". Offenes Herz e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-18.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.