Old Maleizen Monastery

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Old Maleizen Monastery ( Dutch Het Oude Klooster Maleizen , French Vieux Monastère de Malaise ) is a monastery owned and administered by the vzw Christ Sacerdos Association. It is located in Maleizen near Overijse in Belgian Flanders and is a spiritual center of the Roman Catholic order of the Servants of Jesus and Mary (Servi Jesu et Mariæ, SJM), which was canonically established as a monastery in 2015 by their superior general Paul Schindele . It is the location of a middle school with boarding school and was the subject of state measures because of right-wing extremist and Christian fundamentalist activities.

history

Former girls' boarding school and ruin

The old monastery, located in the center of the Overijs district of Maleizen, was originally built as a boarding school for girls . The foundation stone was laid on June 28, 1866. In 1998, the Flemish priest Emiel Herroelen bought it as a ruin and renovated it. Cardinal Danneels entrusted the chapel in the old monastery to Pastor Herroelen. Archbishop Godfried Danneels was the responsible diocesan bishop from 1979 to 2010 . Until 2007 attempts to use the building as a school or as a seminary "Christ Sacerdos" failed , which, according to the SJM congregation, was due to the "difficult ecclesiastical situation in Belgium". In 2007 Herroelen withdrew from the projects in Maleizen. Pastor Herroelen died on June 10, 2014 in the hospital in Diest .

Property of the association "Christ Sacerdos" as a spiritual center and monastery of the "Servants of Jesus and Mary"

On December 22nd 1997 the vzw Christ Sacerdos bought the building, which was still in his possession in 2017. At the beginning of September 2012, the servants of Jesus and Mary , who emerged from the Catholic Scouting Society of Europe , took over the newly built building with the approval of the then Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels , André-Joseph Léonard . As of 2013, the monastery had two chapels, a retreat house , a ballroom with a stage and an extensive garden. The congregation is represented in Overijse with the SJM Fathers Gert Verbeken and Daniel Artmeyer as well as Frater Markus Bayer, who are also the contact persons of the monastery. Artmeyer looks after Belgian scouts from Maleizen as a curate . On September 13, 2015, the monastery could be visited as a monument as part of the Open Monument Day. The old monastery is the meeting point of a "Padre Pio prayer group" , which organizes an evening of prayer every third Friday of the month.

The monastery is referred to by the SJM as the "Spiritual Center of Christ Sacerdos". It looks after several Catholic associations within a radius of about 50 kilometers, including the student association Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudenten Verbond in Leuven , the group Aktion Leben in Mechelen , the student group Credo and the Catholic student action . In addition, the Fathers of the monastery look after two parishes in the Facility Community Wezembeek-Oppem in the province of Flemish Brabant near Brussels . On April 11, 2014, the Archbishop of Brussels André-Joseph Léonard visited the monastery where the Tridentine mass is celebrated.

In March 2018, Belgian journalist and licensed criminologist Tom Cochez alleged that the monastery was a meeting place for neo-Nazis , anti-Semites and radicalized clergy . It offers a fundamentalist school and houses a “right-wing extremist ultra-Catholic network.” In 2018, a training camp run by the right-wing extremist Flemish youth group Schild & Vrienden in the monastery became known.

Middle school "Sint-Ignatius" and boarding school

Since autumn 2015 the vzw Sint-Ignatius has been running the private secondary school "Sint-Ignatius", named after Ignatius von Loyola , with state approval , to which a boarding school is attached. The founding of the school goes back to the initiative of some Catholic parents, who found the modern teaching options a bit meager. The school's founder and first director, Kris Clauw, passed away on June 13, 2017 at the age of 40. His successor is Jan Boons, who studied psychology at the Catholic University of Leuven and has been teaching for 20 years. It is a secondary school with a general education profile ( Algemeen secundair onderwijs , aso). Since the school has been recognized, i.e. since September 1st, 2015, the school has been listed in the official register of schools recognized by the Flemish authorities (“Vlaamse Overheid”). As a result of this recognition by the Vlaamse Overheid, the vzw Sint-Ignatius as head of school (“schoolbestuur”) according to “Codex Secundair Onderwijs” Part III, Title 1, Chapter 2, Art. 13 is entitled to issue state-recognized certificates.

The school, which started with five students, was the subject of a debate in the Belgian Parliament in 2015 . At the request of Jean-Jacques De Gucht (Open Vld), a request was made to Education Minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V) at a meeting of the teaching commission on January 21, 2016 . Crevits explained that the freedom of instruction enables committed people to start new school projects, but that they have given the Instructional Inspectorate the task of conducting a targeted investigation of the Sint Ignatius School in order to clarify how far the school meets the recognition requirements and the teaching regulations respected. The investigation was carried out on January 28, 29 and 30, 2016. The two teaching inspectors and one Roman Catholic Religious Education inspector conducted a more extensive investigation than the inspection for school recognition on October 1, 2015. They had discussions with the management and the teachers, visited the class and examined the documents, after which they found that the school met the requirements for recognition. According to the inspectors' report, there were no indications that human rights, and especially those of children, were not being respected. Minister Crevits received a report from the investigative expert for Roman Catholic religious instruction, in which it was stated that the school provided quality work in this ideological subject. Crevits stuck to the recognition of the school because the state teaching standards would be pursued and the rights of the child would be respected. In October 2018, an inspection for the recognition of the third degree (5th and 6th grade of secondary school) was carried out and the recognition was granted by the Agentschap voor Onderwijsdiensten van de Vlaamse Overheid (AGODI). The vzw Sint-Ignatius can thus issue the first secondary school leaving certificates in 2020.

In January 2016 the visited Engelwerk nationals auxiliary bishop in Astana , Athanasius Schneider ORC , at the invitation of the school rector, Kris Clauw, the monastery. The school was financed through the account of the creationist group Stop Christenvervolging under Fernando Pauwels, who was dismissed from the Catholic University in Leuven because of "too extreme religious views", and Yves Pernet, an activist of the right-wing groups Vlaams Belang and Voorpost and author of the Flemish -nationalist website Rechts Actueel , which supports the school with crowdfunding . The account manager was the Kerk en Geloof Foundation (Church and Faith). The Belgian Bishops' Conference declared in 2016 that the school had neither applied for nor received ecclesiastical recognition. According to its own statements, the order has been able to issue fully valid school reports since its state recognition . According to the Flemish legislation of August 30, 2018, this is generally the responsibility of the school management .

After the Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels under the new Archbishop Cardinal Jozef De Kesel and the Flemish school association "Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen", which is active for the Bishops' Conference, criticized the school in the old monastery of Maleizen, which was run by the vzw Sint-Ignatius, directed an "unfamiliar education" Flanders' Education Minister and Vice-Prime Minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V) launched a renewed investigation of the school in January 2016.

The school was accused of creationism and right-wing extremism. Wouter Jambon, the school's first treasurer and chairman of the right-wing conservative student union Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudenten Verbond , denied the latter. The school was able to continue operations, subject to future reviews, after objectionable parts of its website were deleted. As of January 2016, the school was not being financially supported by the Flemish authorities because it had too few students. The chairman of the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democrats in the Flemish Parliament, Jean-Jacques De Gucht, described the recognition of the school as absurd and unacceptable. De Gucht also expressed a general opinion on the freedom of teaching, especially in the field of ideological subjects. In his opinion, the recognition of the various schools with regard to their worldview must be carried out with determination; he specifically mentioned Islamic schools, Jewish schools, and others.

Since 2018, the school has no longer been referred to as “our school” by the SJM, but as a legally and financially independent “initiative of committed parents”, which the school also made clear. On its website, the school continued to state that it is supported and collaborated with the Order. As of October 2018, the school still lacked part-time teachers for sports, technology and Latin classes. Since March 2018, members of the right-wing extremist group Schild & Vrienden have been reported in the Belgian press, including in the school management.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Current tasks of the SJM , section seminar, boarding school, schools, spiritual centers. ( Memento of November 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) SJM website, undated
  2. ↑ Het Oude Klooster Maleizen. Retrieved October 3, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c Tom Cochez: A school met heimwee naar het Derde Rijk. apache.be of March 8, 2018 (partially subject to a fee)
  4. ↑ a b Marie Gathon: "Sint-Ignatius": quand les ultra-cathos retournent à l'école. Le Vif , July 16, 2015
  5. ↑ a b Odile Leherte: Une école catholique ultra-à Overijse: qui est à la manœuvre ?. RTBF from June 15, 2015
  6. ↑ a b c d Crevits onderneemt stappen tegen ultra-catholic school. Het Laatste Nieuws of January 13, 2016
  7. ↑ Gert Verbeken: Hoe het allemaal begon ... https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxoZXRvdWRla2xvb3N0ZXJtYWxlaXplbnxneDo0NTllzM2 . In: Christ Sacerdos (ed.): Christ Sacerdos. Driemaandelijks blad . oct-nov-dec 2017. Christ Sacerdos, 2017, p. 4 .
  8. ↑ a b ( page no longer available , search in web archives: website of the servants of Jesus and Mary ), February 4, 2013@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / sjm-congregation.org
  9. ↑ Gert Verbeken: Hoe het allemaal begon. In: vzw Christ Sacerdos (ed.): Christ Sacerdos. Driemaandelijks blad . https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxoZXRvdWRla2xvb3N0ZXJtYWxlaXplbnxneDo0NTllMTM2YTQzNzAzNTZk . oct.-nov.-dec. 2017. vzw Christ Sacerdos, 2017, p. 6 .
  10. ↑ a b RIP: Pastor Herroelen. Blog of the Servants of Jesus and Mary, June 24, 2014
  11. ↑ Gert Verbeken: Hoe het allemaal begon ... https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxoZXRvdWRla2xvb3N0ZXJtYWxlaXplbnxneDo0NTllzM2 . In: Christ Sacerdos (ed.): Christ Sacerdos . oct-nov-dec 2017, 2017, p. 6 .
  12. ↑ Het Oude Klooster Maleizen: Contact.
  13. ↑ P. Daniel Artmeyer SJM: My first year as a priest. ( Memento from May 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) The Call of the King, 2015/3, p. 11
  14. ↑ Michel Van Mullem: Maleizen Rommelt Maxi: van dorpsloop over rommelmarkt tot early jazz. Nieuwsblad of September 2, 2015, accessed April 24, 2016
  15. ↑ Father Pio-gebedsgroep - Het Oude Klooster Maleizen. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
  16. ↑ a b Daniel Artmeyer: The SJM in the heart of Europe. ( Memento of March 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Der Ruf des König, 4th quarter 2016, p. 12 f
  17. ↑ Daniel Artmeyer: Report from Belgium. ( Memento of April 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) April 18, 2014, Blog of the Servants of Jesus and Mary
  18. ↑ Walter soundings: Het menuet van Kondratieff: Kroniek van een kosmopoliet. Verlag Gompel & Svacina, Oud-Turnhout / 's-Hertogenbosch 2018, ISBN 978-94-6371-056-5 . Pages 51 f
  19. ↑ a b Marcel Gielis, Frans Van Looveren: Het pseudo-christendom van extreemrechts. De Standaard of September 17, 2018 (registration required)
  20. ↑ a b c Sint-Ignatius, Terhulpensesteenweg 708 3090 OVERIJSE. Retrieved September 26, 2018 (Dutch).
  21. ^ Sint-Ignatius: Middelbare school en internaat. Self-presentation of the Sint-Ignatius School, undated, accessed on March 7, 2016
  22. ↑ St. Ignatius. Retrieved November 5, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Vijf biddende kinderen? Closely! In: Katholiek Nieuwsblad . January 28, 2016 ( online [accessed November 5, 2018]).
  24. ^ Mathias Van Aken: Kris Clauw overleden. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
  25. ^ Mathias Van Aken: Interview met de directeur. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
  26. ↑ St. Ignatius. Retrieved November 17, 2018 .
  27. ↑ doorlichtingsverslag (downloadable as PDF via link on the website): Inlichtingen over de school. doorlichtingsverslag. In: data-onderwijs.vlaanderen.be. P. 3 , accessed on December 23, 2018 ((Dutch), "Sint-Ignatius is een school die sinds 1 September 2015 Erkend is." (Doorlichtingsverslag P. 3)).
  28. ↑ Gecodificeerde decreten relevant het secundair onderwijs (citeeropschrift: "Codex Secundair Onderwijs"). Vlanderen, December 17, 2010, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  29. ↑ Vlaams Parlement: Vraag om uitleg 827 (2015-2016) - Vlaams Parlement. Retrieved January 8, 2019 (Flemish).
  30. ↑ Commissie Onderwijs 21-01-2016 - Erkenning Sint-Ignatiusschool Maleizen. Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, accessed January 8, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Verslag commissievergadering donderdag 21 januari 2016 17.29u. Vlaams Parlement, accessed 8 January 2019 (Flemish).
  32. ↑ a b Commissie Onderwijs 14-04-2016 - Erkenning Sint-Ignatiusschool Maleizen. Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, accessed on November 1, 2018 (Dutch).
  33. ↑ Privacy settings. Retrieved November 5, 2018 (Flemish).
  34. ↑ St. Ignatius. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  35. ^ Bishop visiting. ( Memento of July 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Blog of the Servants of Jesus and Mary of January 18, 2016
  36. ↑ a b Hilde Crevits: het is gewoon een Catholic school. ( Memento of March 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Hilde Crevits' website of January 14, 2016
  37. ↑ Dries Goethals and Simon Van Puyvelde: Nieuwe kathieke school Overijse zamelt Geld in via 'crowdfunding'. Right actueel, September 2, 2015
  38. ^ Piet De Loof, Philippe Keulemans: Crevits laat ultra-catholic school opnieuw controleren. Belgian Bishops' Conference, January 13, 2016
  39. ↑ Daniel Artmeyer: The SJM in the heart of Europe. ( Memento of March 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Der Ruf des König, 4th quarter 2016, p. 12 f
  40. ↑ Gecodificeerde decreten relevant het secundair onderwijs of August 30, 2018
  41. ↑ Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen: Missie en visie van onze koepelvereniging
  42. ↑ Sint-Ignatius, Terhulpensesteenweg 708 3090 OVERIJSE. Retrieved September 28, 2018 (Dutch).
  43. ↑ “Onaanvaardbaar dat ultra-Catholic school discerning behoudt”. Standaard from March 18, 2016
  44. ↑ Commissie Onderwijs 21-01-2016 - Erkenning Sint-Ignatiusschool Maleizen. Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, accessed November 2, 2018 (Dutch).
  45. ^ A b Koen Daniels: Protocol of the commission for school teaching. Retrieved November 2, 2018 .
  46. ↑ Daniel Artmeyer: In Maleizen something happens. ( Memento of February 2, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Der Ruf des König 2017/4, p. 22. Published in January 2018
  47. ↑ St. Ignatius. Retrieved November 5, 2018 .
  48. ↑ Website of the Sint-Ignatius School, as of January 11, 2018 ( Memento from January 11, 2018 in the web archive archive.today )
  49. ↑ Website of the Sint-Ignatius School, as of October 3, 2018 ( Memento of October 3, 2018 in the web archive archive.today )

Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 15.8 "  N , 4 ° 30 ′ 10.7"  E