BELGIUM
Monsters and Critics

Brussels – New police raids rocked the Belgian Catholic church on Monday, as prosecutors continued a high-profile investigation into child abuse allegations.

Police seized material from the offices of the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels – the head of the Catholic church in Belgium – and from those of bishops in Antwerp and Hasselt, two cities in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders.

‘We were looking for personal dossiers concerning certain clergymen whose names were mentioned in victims’ declarations,’ Lieve Pellens, a spokeswoman for the Belgian Federal Prosecution office, was quoted as saying by Belga news agency.

The investigation, known as ‘Operation Chalice,’ is ‘at an important stage,’ Pellens told reporters.