BELGIUM
U.S. Catholic

Friday, January 13, 2012

By Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic News Service

OXFORD, England (CNS) — Belgium’s Catholic bishops have pledged a “culture of vigilance” against future sexual abuse by priests and said guilty clergy must compensate their victims even if their crimes are no longer punishable by law.

“We cannot repair the past, but we can take moral responsibility by recognizing sufferings and helping victims recover,” Bishop Guy Harpigny of Torunai and Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, the church’s delegates for abuse, told a Brussels news conference Jan. 12.

“Above all, we ask forgiveness for the suffering we weren’t able to prevent, and we commit to treat this problem differently in future.”