Issoudun Basilica: In memory of people who are victims of an MSC.
Recently we posted a news item about the French Province acknowledging MSC abuse of children.
Here is an explanation of the artwork in the Basilica in Issoudun.
On the occasion of the Provincial Assembly, we set up the work of Jean-Pierre AUGIER to commemorate the abuses of one of us. It was on Wednesday, October 23 in the presence of Mrs. Elodie BRIAN, companion at the CRR (Commission Reconnaissance and Repair). It was an important moment of our Provincial Assembly in the presence of several people accustomed to the late morning mass at the Basilica.
Explanation of the work of JP AUGIER:
To commemorate the abuse of children perpetrated by one of their own, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart asked Mr. Jean-Pierre AUGIER, sculptor, to create this work of art.
Where do these pebbles come from? They come from the erosion of the mountain and they rolled through the streams and rivers to the sea, at the edge of which they were collected, and arranged as milestones on a path of renewal towards the sun. The accident that forced them to leave the original mountain resembles the one experienced by the victims during an assault suffered in an imposed and complicit silence. It was not until the CIASE report that the speech could finally be freed and welcomed in a climate of trust and mutual listening between the victims and the institution to which the aggressor belonged. Through the Reconnaissance and Reparation Commission, a path has been opened for a desired resilience in order to get out of the absolute drama. The beautiful stones have become pebbles modeled differently by the ebb and flow of the sea, just as the life of the victims has been shaped differently because of the evil suffered and the speech finally welcomed and recognized.
The crescent moon evokes the time of silence imposed by trauma. The red stone, cut in the shape of a heart, suggests this time that allows one day the heart to awaken to the finally named reality. This recognition paves the way for repair that can never be total. It is a milestone towards another time, sunnier as indicated by the golden sun.
For both the victims and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, nothing will be the same. This is the raison d'être of this memorial so that these unspeakable acts and gestures that marked "red iron!" are never forgotten. The life of these fragile and innocent beings. Every person and even more so, every child, has the right to his dignity and absolute respect.
The path traveled together by the victims and the institution shows that man is able to get out of the impasse of absolute evil when dialogue allows recognition and reparation.
Text written by Daniel Auguié, Provincial MSC in connection with the victims who made their corrections as well as Ms. Élodie BRIAN, companion of the CRR (Recognition and Reparation Commission).
Work directed by Jean-Pierre AUGIER - October 2024.
