Riaumont

Riaumont (literally "gold hill") 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 refers to a Benedictine monastic community, a children's residential village, and a Scout group.

History

The village and religious community was directed since its foundation in the 1960s by Father Revet, until his death in 1986.

Built for young people at the request of the DDASS (te French social services]]) and the judges of Pas-de-Calais, this centre and independent school accepts children with problems. The establishment was a reception centre for children placed under the supervision of the DDASS. The French State financed the construction and the maintenance of several buildings as well as the salaries of the teachers. The children have worked on the various building sites (reception centres, farm, chapel, scout building, monastery, etc.), sometimes as a practical application of vocational teaching courses, helping to transform the initial reception centre into a Catholic monastic centre. In parallel, Father Revet determined to set up a religious scouting movement.

In 1979, the DDASS found serious problems (poor hygiene and food safety conditions, and maltreatment), and decided to close the centre in April 1982. The establishment now accommodates children placed by their family, in particular children originating from South-east Asia.

The religious order

The religious community of Sainte-Croix (Holy-Cross) celebrates the liturgy according to the 1962 form of the Roman Rite, under the provisions of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Its statutes attribute a twofold origin to it: Benedictine (the monks are Benedictine Oblates) and the scout movement. 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 originating 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, etc.

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 Eclaireurs 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 Scout 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 or, still, various vestments and objects having belonged either to Scout chaplains, 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, on 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.

See also

• 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 "