Pope Francis faced strong criticism during his visit to Belgium, with the king, prime minister, and the rector of the Catholic university all denouncing the Catholic Church for its failures in addressing cases of clergy sex abuse and its lack of progress in areas such as the inclusion of women and the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this, he met with seventeen abuse survivors who shared their stories with him, demanding reparations from the church. Francis expressed his remorse and promised to prevent such abuses from happening again, acknowledging the shame and humiliation brought upon the church as a result of these scandals.
Francis has visited countries with troubled pasts of church wrongdoing before, such as Ireland and Canada, but the public criticisms he faced in Belgium from the country’s highest institutional figures were particularly intense and direct. The rector of Leuven Catholic University emphasized the need for the church to reform in order to regain its credibility and relevance, suggesting that greater inclusion of women and the LGBTQ+ community could help improve its moral authority. These sentiments reflected the views of European social progressives and the reform-minded approach that Francis has embraced.
The visit began with King Philippe of Belgium calling for the church to work tirelessly to atone for its crimes and help victims heal. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also stood up to demand concrete steps to address the full extent of the abuse scandal and prioritize the interests of victims over those of the church. This direct approach highlighted the severity of the abuse scandal in Belgium, which has greatly damaged the church’s credibility and resulted in a decline in Catholicism and its influence.
While some victims welcomed the words from both the church and the state and felt that they were taking steps in the right direction, others emphasized the need for substantial financial settlements as part of the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. The victims who met with Francis called for a universal system of church reparations for their traumas, which the Vatican stated he would study. The revelations of Belgium’s abuse scandal, which have been ongoing for over a quarter of a century, have had a devastating impact on the victims, many of whom have not received adequate compensation for their suffering.
Through the visit, Francis reaffirmed the church’s commitment to addressing and preventing abuse, stating that the church must be ashamed for these scandals and asking for forgiveness. The prime minister, king, and pope also addressed the issue of forced adoptions by the Belgian church, expressing sadness over these practices. Francis acknowledged that such criminality was prevalent in all parts of society at the time but emphasized the need to ensure that such abuses do not happen again. Overall, the visit to Belgium highlighted the ongoing challenges and complexities of addressing historical abuses within the Catholic Church and the importance of reparations and reconciliation for victims.
