BRUSSELS. Pope Francis concluded his difficult visit to Belgium on Sunday, addressing the deep wounds left by the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal. Speaking before a crowd of 30,000 at a sports stadium, the Pope demanded that clergy involved in abuse be brought to justice and urged bishops to stop covering up their crimes.

“Evil must not be hidden. Evil must be brought out into the open,” Francis declared, receiving repeated applause as his words resonated with the audience. His remarks came after meeting with 17 survivors of sexual abuse on Friday, during which he heard firsthand the trauma they endured and the church’s inadequate response.

A Troubled Legacy in Belgium

Belgium has faced a long history of clerical abuse and cover-ups, with the case of Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe serving as a grim symbol of the church’s failings. Vangheluwe quietly retired in 2010 after admitting to abusing his nephew for 13 years. Despite these controversies, Pope Francis’s visit was originally intended to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Leuven/Louvain Catholic University, the oldest Catholic university in the world.

The visit, however, took a sharp turn as Belgium’s leaders delivered pointed critiques. King Philippe urged the church to work “incessantly” to address the abuse crisis, while Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for victims’ needs to be prioritized, marking a rare public rebuke from a country once staunchly Catholic.

In his homily, Pope Francis reaffirmed his stance on accountability within the church, saying, “In the church, there is room for everyone, but everyone will be judged, and there is no place for abuse. I ask the bishops not to cover up abuse. Condemn the abusers and help them to recover from this disease of abuse.”

Calls for Reform from Belgium’s Intellectual Elite

During his visit, the Pope faced public outcry and a strong push for reform from Belgium’s academic circles. Rector Luc Sels of the Dutch campus of Leuven Catholic University emphasized that the abuse scandal had deeply damaged the church’s moral authority. Sels suggested that the church should embrace reforms, including opening up greater roles for women—possibly even in the priesthood—and becoming more inclusive toward LGBTQ+ Catholics.

Students from the Francophone campus echoed this call, staging a reading of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ and urging a “paradigm shift” in the church’s treatment of women. They criticized the encyclical for excluding female voices and theologians, further contributing to the marginalization of women within the church.

Women have long been excluded from key leadership roles in the church, including the priesthood, despite their significant contributions to church activities such as educating the young and caring for the sick.

University’s Rebuke of Pope Francis’ Views on Women

Francis, an 87-year-old Argentine Jesuit, responded to the critique, affirming his belief that women are “fertile” nurturers who complement men, adding that “the church is woman.” However, these remarks were met with immediate backlash from the university.

The Louvain campus issued a statement condemning the Pope’s views as “deterministic and reductive.” Rector Françoise Smets remarked, “We cannot agree on his position for sure. We are fighting against discrimination for women, and we would like women to have another role in society and in the church also.”

Valentine Hendrix, a 22-year-old student at Louvain, expressed disappointment with the Pope’s remarks, noting, “We had expectations, even if we saw that he disappointed us in just a few hours. His comments on abortion and women’s role meant that he had given up on a committed dialogue.”

Limited Reforms and Ongoing Debate

While Pope Francis has introduced several reforms during his 11-year pontificate—such as allowing women to serve as acolytes and granting them voting rights in synods—he has remained firm in his decision not to ordain women as priests. The issue of allowing women to serve as deacons has also been tabled for future theological discussions, as the Vatican’s upcoming three-week synod is not expected to tackle such thorny issues.

Despite the criticism, Pope Francis has acknowledged the need for women to have more decision-making roles in the church. However, his reluctance to consider female ordination has left many reform advocates unsatisfied, keeping the debate alive as the church grapples with its future direction.

Pope Francis’s visit to Belgium, meant to celebrate the church’s academic heritage, ultimately turned into a reckoning with the church’s troubled past and its uncertain path forward.