BRUSSELS. Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo directly criticized Pope Francis on Friday, condemning the Catholic Church’s long-standing legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups in Belgium. During the pontiff’s official visit to Laeken Castle, De Croo demanded “concrete steps” to address the church’s past failures and prioritize victims over institutional interests, marking one of the most forceful public condemnations a pope has faced during a foreign visit.
“This is our shame and humiliation,” Pope Francis responded after De Croo’s remarks, emphasizing the gravity of the issue. The prime minister’s speech, delivered before an audience that included Belgium’s King Philippe, diplomats, and church officials, called for a reckoning with the past and a commitment to victims. “Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps,” De Croo insisted, pressing for the church to take responsibility for its actions.
King Philippe also addressed the pontiff, echoing De Croo’s call for the church to work “incessantly” toward atonement and to help victims heal. Both leaders delivered parts of their speeches in Dutch, the language spoken in Flanders, where the abuse cases have garnered the most attention. The candid and forceful tone underscored the deep wounds left by two decades of revelations about abuse and systematic cover-ups, which have severely damaged the Catholic Church’s credibility in Belgium.
Victims’ groups welcomed the strong language from both De Croo and King Philippe. Survivor Emmanuel Henckens noted that their remarks addressed “the crux of the evil,” acknowledging the scale of the abuse. However, another survivor, Koen Van Sumere, stressed that words were no longer enough. He called for the church to provide substantial reparations for the victims, rather than mere apologies. “If you want to move toward forgiveness and reconciliation, it is not sufficient to only say ‘I am sorry,’ but you have to bear the consequences it entails and you should compensate the damages,” Van Sumere said. He criticized the Belgian church’s financial settlements, saying they amounted to “alms” and were insufficient to cover therapy costs.
Belgium’s clerical abuse scandal has gradually unfolded over the past 25 years, culminating in a bombshell revelation in 2010. Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, the country’s longest-serving bishop, resigned after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew for 13 years. However, he faced no punishment at the time, leading to widespread outrage. It wasn’t until earlier this year that Pope Francis defrocked Vangheluwe, an action seen as an effort to address lingering anger before the papal visit.
In addition to the Vangheluwe case, a 200-page report released in 2010 revealed that 507 people had come forward with stories of being molested by priests in Belgium, with some victims as young as two years old. The report identified at least 13 suicides by victims and several suicide attempts, underscoring the devastating impact of the abuse. Survivors and advocates have argued that the true extent of the abuse is far greater than what has been documented.
Pope Francis, addressing the audience after De Croo’s speech, reiterated his commitment to addressing the scandal. “The church must be ashamed and ask for forgiveness,” he said. He emphasized that the institution must take all possible steps to prevent such abuse from happening again and expressed his sorrow for the victims. “But even if it were only one [victim], it is enough to be ashamed,” he added.
Both the prime minister and the king also touched upon another scandal tied to the Belgian church — the issue of forced adoptions. After World War II and continuing through the 1980s, many single mothers in Belgium were forced by the church to give up their newborns for adoption. These adoptions often involved money, and the records have since disappeared, making it nearly impossible for the adopted individuals to trace their birth mothers. Pope Francis expressed his sadness at learning of these practices, but he noted that such actions were influenced by the prevailing societal views.
In his speech, Pope Francis also mentioned the importance of prevention programs and the church’s efforts to accompany victims in their healing journey. While the pontiff’s acknowledgment and expressions of sorrow were welcomed, survivors remain adamant that further action is needed. Some survivors penned a letter to Pope Francis demanding a universal reparations program for victims of clerical abuse, an idea that has faced resistance from the Vatican, which has maintained that local churches should handle financial settlements.
The pope’s visit to Belgium, marred by this confrontation, highlights the ongoing struggle within the Catholic Church to come to terms with its dark legacy of abuse. As De Croo pointedly remarked, “To be able to look into the future, the church needs to come clean on its past.”
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
