BishopAccountability.org
	Belgian Cardinal Says He Should've Asked Bishop to Resign Expatica September 8, 2010 http://www.expatica.com/be/news/belgian-news/belgian-cardinal-says-he-should-ve-asked-bishop-to-resign_94691.html The former head of the Belgian Catholic Church on Tuesday admitted he should have asked for the immediate resignation of a bishop who had confessed to the sexual abuse of a minor. Instead, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who headed the church between 1979-2009, tried to mediate between the former bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, and his victim, according to a taped conversation between the cardinal and the victim of the abuse that became public. "Because I suspected there were dissensions within the family (of the bishop) I thought a pastoral approach was appropriate," Danneels said in an interview to several Belgian media. "I now realise I should've immediately encouraged Vangheluwe to resign," he said. Danneels in April took part in a meeting between the 73-year-old and several members of his family, during which Vangheluwe recognised sexually abusing his nephew for 13 years, while he was a minor. The cardinal had asked the victim to accept an apology from Vangheluwe, or at least not make his allegations public until the bishop retired a year later. Vangheluwe resigned two weeks later. Belgium is one of the countries worst hit by a rising tide of revelations of paedophilia by Roman Catholic priests in Europe and North America.
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