The explanation is cryptic and coded. It is conclusory. Thomas, et al, if you felt the necessity of offering an explanation for the rupture of relations with F.P. Journe, I think you are then duty bound to give the relevant factual background instead of a subjective conclusion. It is fondamentaly unfair to publicly attach motive to words or individuals without supplying those words, all of them and their context, so that we can either agree or disagree without depending exclusively of your personal interpretation. I for one, (I think I am not alone) felt that I was being short changed with the story's conclusion w/o the benefit of the underlying facts. For instance, you say that M. Journe describes your (The Purists) work as "too amateurish" and not worthy of his support. Since it is highly unlikely that whatever M. Journe said it was spoken in english, this quote is not a quote at all, but a translated interpretation. I do not know how strong your french is, but note as Douglas so ably points out, "amateur" in french is a very different noun/adjective than in english. In one context, it means "purist" . To give an example using my own personal life experience. I was an amateur (french) athlete that competed internationally. I would have felt insulted if described as a "professional", especially in french. Being an amateur meant I was training and competing for the purists of reasons, trying to win for my club/university or country, attempting to surpass myself. In a word, it meant love of the sport for the right reasons (as opposed to running simply for the $). As a noun, it also means a connaisseur of say art or wine, of all things refined. In french, it can be the opposite of your normal english understanding of the word. As to what you mean by "support" I can again, only speculate.
This is all so regrettable and I hope this situation will be reversed. However, and I say this respectfully, I cannot accept as justified the appropriatness of this action based soley on the flimsy factual record laid out above. If you start to answer the question of why, you really have to do a better job of laying out the facts.