Belgian PM and king blast Pope Francis for church’s sex abuse cover-up legacy in blistering welcome
The Belgian prime minister has condemned Pope Francis over the Catholic Church’s horrendous legacy of clerical sexual abuse and cover ups.
Belgian PM, King blast Pope Francis in a raging welcome for the church’s legacy of sex abuse cover up. By NICOLE WINFIELD & RAF CASERTAssociated PressThe Associated PressBRUSSELS
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – Belgium’s Prime Minister blasted Pope Francis on Friday for the Catholic Church’s horrendous legacy of clerical sex and cover-ups in Belgium. He demanded “concrete measures” to clean up the past and place victims’ needs ahead of those of the institution.
Alexander De Croo’s speech was among the most pointedly directed ever at the pope on a foreign visit, when diplomatic protocol normally keeps public outrage away. Even King Philippe was not shy about his criticism of Francis. He demanded that the church “continuously” work to atone and heal the victims.
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The tone of their speech showed how raw and unresolved the abuse scandal is in Belgium. Two decades of revelations and systematic covering-ups has destroyed the credibility of the hierarchy and contributed to a decline in Catholicism, and the once powerful Catholic Church.
Francis applauded De Croo at the conclusion of his speech. He was also expected to meet privately with victims later on Friday. In an improvised reply, he stated: “This is shame and humiliation for us.”
“Today words alone are not enough.” De Croo said to Francis, and a group of royalty, church officials and diplomats at Laeken Castle in Belgium, that “we also need concrete actions.”
“Victims must be heard.” They must be the focus. They have the right to know the truth. “Misdeeds must be acknowledged,” he said. He said that when something goes wrong, we can’t accept a cover-up. “In order to be able look to the future, the Church needs to clean up its past.”
Over the past quarter century, revelations about Belgium’s horrifying abuse scandal have trickled out. Then, in 2010, the country’s most senior bishop, Bruges’ Bishop Roger Vangheluwe was allowed to resign, without being punished, after he admitted he had abused his niece for 13 years.
Francis defrocked Vangheluwe only earlier this year. This was a clear attempt to eliminate a source of outrage that lingered among Belgians prior to his visit.
The Vatican condemned the raids as “deplorable” two months after Vangheluwe’s resignation. They were conducted by Belgian police in the Belgian Church Offices, at the residence of Archbishop Godfried Danneels who had just retired, and the crypt of the prelate.
Danneels then was caught on video trying to convince Vangheluwe’s nephew to remain quiet until the Bishop retired. In September 2010, the church published a 200-page document that stated 507 people came forward to tell their stories of being abused by priests. This included children as young as two. The report identified 13 victims who attempted suicide and at least thirteen others who committed suicide.
The victims and their advocates claim that those findings are only the tip of the Iceberg and the true extent of the scandal. The police returned to the church the documents that were seized during the raids in 2010, scuttling any hopes of criminal investigations.
The scandal resurfaced in a new and shocking way in 2012, after a four-part Flemish documentary “Godvergeten”, aired by the VRT, a public broadcaster.
Belgian victims spoke one by one on camera for the first time. They showed the Flemish audience the extent of the scandal, the depravity and the systematic covering up of crimes committed in their community.
In response to the public outrage, both a Flanders parliament committee and Belgium’s Federal Parliament opened official inquests late last year. This week, a follow-up investigation will examine whether external pressures were the cause of the failure of the criminal probe.
Both King Philippe, and De Croo delivered their most scathing remarks on abuse in Dutch – the language of the once proudly Catholic Flanders region where the abuse cases gained the greatest notoriety – while their more neutral speeches were given in French and German.
De Croo spoke outside of the usual Vatican protocol. Normally, only the pope would address the king. De Croo requested to be allowed to speak as it happened in Canada when Justin Trudeau and the governor-general addressed the pope.
In his remarks, the pope also mentioned abuse, insisting the church “addresses firmly and definitively” the problem through prevention programs, listening and accompanying victims to healing.
Francis, however, went off script to voice the church’s shame for the scandal. He also vowed to end it.
Francis said, “The Church must be ashamed. It should ask forgiveness, resolve the situation in Christian humility, and do everything possible to prevent it from happening again.” “But even though it was only one victim, it’s enough to be embarrassed.”
The victims, however, demanded that the church do much more. They included implementing robust programs of reparations to compensate for their traumas and pay for lifelong therapy for many. Others wrote a letter to Francis, demanding such a program.
The pope, the king, and the prime minister also mentioned a new scandal in Belgium that is related to church, which involves so-called forced adoptions. This scandal echoes earlier revelations regarding Ireland’s so called mother and baby homes.
Many single mothers in Belgium were forced to give their newborns for adoption by the Belgian Church after World War II, and throughout the 1980s. They often barely saw their newborns before nuns removed them and placed the babies for adoption.
Since the records are long gone, it’s almost impossible to know who your birth mother was for those adopted.
Francis said that he was “saddened to learn” of these practices. However, he said criminality “was mixed in with the unfortunate prevailing view of all parts of society during this time.”
He said that many believed, in conscience, that they were doing good for the child as well as the mother. This was in reference to the social stigma associated with an unmarried mother in a Catholic nation. He said that he prayed for the church to “bring clarity to the issue” and not use the Gospel in a way that “causes suffering and exclusion.”
Belgia’s interim Justice Minister
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