Riaumont

Riaumont (literally "gold mount") is located on the hill of Riaumont, in the commune of Liévin, in the Pas-de-Calais "département" in northern France, in the former province of Artois. It is a monastic order, a children's village, and a Scout group.

History

Founded by the Father Revet in the 1960s, it was directed a long time since the death of the latter mentioned in 1986 by the reverend father Jean-Paul Argouarc' H. Built for the young people at the request of the DDASS (French equivalent to DHSS and the judges of Pas-de-Calais, this hearth and this independent (out of contract) school from the National Education Ministry receive problem childs. The establishment becomes a hearth of reception of the DDASS, which entrusts to it children placed under his supervision. The State finances the construction and the maintenance of several buildings as well as the wages of the teachers. The children work on the building sites for the construction of the buildings (hearths, closes, vault, local scout, monastery...), sometimes like practical application of technical teaching administered, which contributes to transform the reception centre into religious house. In parallel, the foundation of a "scout religious movement" is decided by the Revet father. In 1979, the DDASS points serious dysfunctions (conditions of hygiene and medical safety, illtreatance) and wishes to withdraw the children from any religious influence (principle of secularity of the institutions). It decides the closing of the hearth in April 1982. The establishment then accommodates children placed by their family, in particular children originating from South-east Asia. [ [http://www.riaumont.net Riaumont.net - Bienvenue sur Riaumont.net ] ]

The religious order

The religious community of Sainte-Croix (Holy-Cross) celebrates the liturgy according to the extraordinary form of the Latin rite, under the provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. Its statutes confer a double origin to it: bénédictine (the monks are oblats Benedictines) and scout. The frieze and the dress of ceremony refer to religious military orders. The main symbol is the potencée, distinguished cross of the scouts of France and originatinf from the cross of kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Children Village

One can see works of the painter there Gerard Ambroselli (in particular a fresco in the vault) but also of the drawings and paintings original of the famous draughtsman and illustrator Pierre Joubert. Scouting is omnipresent there and three principal buildings shelter these activities: "Godefroy de Bouillon", "Beaumanoir" and "Cedars".

The boarding School

The children from sixth to ninth grade are accommodated with the boarding school Holy Jean Bosco, located in the building "Beaumanoir". The pupils have been prepared for more than ten years for the official examination of Brevet des collèges (first French diploma, obtained after 4 years of junior high school) in the general and technical topics. The children subscribe to the "Hattemer course" (mail-given / correspondence course) and the courses are given by the brothers of Riaumont as well as by external voluntary teachers. The classes are far from numerous (between five to about fifteen pupils) and the pupils are all "boys of Riaumont" but the courses of catechism are also open to the children of the surroundings. The extracurricular activities are numerous: do-it-yourself, froissartage, penmanship and printing works, film club, games in the castle, dealing with the farm and the animals, chorus, brass band and music, readings in the children's library, heraldic workshop, sports activities...

Pedagogy

The pedagogy of the school is presented in the form of a return to the Christian realism, inspired by scouting founded by Robert Baden-Powell. The teaching objective of the school is to carry out a fully Christian education ' ' taking as a starting point the realism thomist and the pedagogy of scouting ' '. It is a question of showing, by the practice, the benefits of the traditional scouting which joins again with the wisdom of philosophy thomist in an original return to reality, by the practice of the campism and manual work. Concerning pedagogy scoute itself, some compare it to the description given by the historian of scoutng Jean-Jacques Gauthé in an article of the newspaper "Le Monde" of September 2 1998 entitled ' ' the Little Soldiers of scouting ": "Defense of the true scouting, since they estimate that this one was denatured by the Scouts de France [...] defense of the true faith through the mass of saint Pie V [...] dispute of the values resulting from the Revolution of 1789 [...] constant references to the counter-revolution of which they marry the topics [...] the values which they defend are those of the "going beyond of oneself" by demanding physical activities, virility sometimes resulting in a paramilitary style [...] the will to form a Catholic elite is manifest"

Scouting

Stemming from a troop of Scouts de France in the 1960s, the "Association des Scouts et Guides de Riaumont" (association of the Scouts and Guides of Riaumont) passed successively by Scouts d'Europe, Scouts Saint-George and the Association Française de Scouts et Guides Catholiques. It is today an association affiliated to the Éclaireurs Neutres de France (ENF), movement of Scouting founded in 1947, approved by the ministry for Youth and Sports. Each weekend, as well as at the time of the camp organized in July, the scouts units of Riaumont (willow, wolf cubs, guides, scouts, guides elder and lorry drivers) are opened to the children from outside. The village has some curiosities which milked with the scouting, a such monument with the memory of the scouts who died for France, a "scout" museum which gathers many badges and parts of uniform resulting from various associations scoutes or, still, various vestments and objects having belonged either to chaplains scouts, or with chaplains of the trenches, lasting it First World War. In addition, for the researchers and academics, the "scout laboratory" gathers many works, newspapers and writings various on scouting.

The 2001 Case

In June 2001, the suicide inside of this institution of a 14 year old young person gives the opportunity to a general inspection of the establishment by the services of the prefecture of will Arras as well as the inspectors of the Aide social à l'enfance (social assistance to childhood, new name of the French DHSS), deputy on the spot who put out of cause the pedagogy of the establishment. "the Voice of North" had however published, in June 17 2001, an article which gave a particularly critical point of view. The village of Riaumont then publishes a right of reply. In addition, part of the family of the young boy addressed a letter aiming at restoring the truth which it considered deformed by the article in question. The other part of the family wished the withdrawal of the child of the boarding school. According to ADFI'S (Association for the defense of the family and the individual), "it is not a sectarian establishment but it is at the fringe". The ADFI, which is a recognized association of public utility, returned this conclusion without going to the place. This specific case, in spite of the media echo of which it was the object, does not call into question the work of education as the report of the inspectors of the Social Assistance to childhood dispatched on the sport after the incident underlines it.

ee also

* [http://www.riaumont.net Site of Riaumont]
* "Riaumont: citadel of the hope. Life and the work of the Father Revet" (Elor Editions, 1991). By Remi Fountain, journalist with the daily newspaper "Present "

References