Pope Francis to address Belgium's clergy abuse crisis

The faithful awaiting the arrival of the Vatican representative hope that attention will once again be drawn to the suffering of the Belgian victims of the Church. A similar meeting of the Pope with those harmed by clergy took place, for example, in Ireland.

The report that shocked the country revealed the presence of 134 priest-paedophiles in the Belgian Church. Although the report was published in 2011, the events described in it still evoke strong emotions.

The problem is that, despite the publicity and the passage of years, few clergymen have faced the consequences of their actions. Most accused have faced neither action from the Church nor legal repercussions.

Only 22 of the priests mentioned faced the harshest church penalty—expulsion from the priesthood. Only 21 people were sentenced to unconditional imprisonment.

A commission set up by the Church revealed that about 500 victims of priest-paedophiles from the period 1950-1990 came forward. There were also reports of harm for which the victims did not live to see justice, as some committed suicide. Thirteen such cases were recorded.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels, primate of Belgium from 1979-2009, assured that the Church did not try to hide cases of paedophilia. His successor, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, repeatedly apologised to the victims for the mistakes made by the Church and called for complaints against priest-paedophiles to be filed, declaring that the Church would cooperate in investigations.

Some of the crimes continue to come to light over time. In the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the case of Roger Vangheluwe - the former Bishop of Bruges, has been reopened, leading to his removal from the clergy, a decision made by Pope Francis six months ago.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Vangheluwe sexually exploited two underage nephews. When this was revealed, he resigned as the ordinary of the diocese. The case caused a great stir in Belgium, as it also emerged that the then primate, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, tried to persuade the victim not to disclose the bishop's abuses but to come to terms with the fact that he would retire in a year anyway.

It is expected that Pope Francis will address this issue during his meeting with the Belgian clergy in the cathedral in Brussels, using it as an opportunity to apologise to those harmed.