BRUSSELS (BELGIUM)
Katholisch.de [Bonn, Germany]
September 17, 2024
In July, Johan Bonny resigned after 15 years as the Belgian bishops’ commissioner for abuse. Now another bishop is taking over. Meanwhile, the Pope is planning a symbolically important meeting during his upcoming visit to the country.
The new abuse commissioner of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference is its chairman, Archbishop Luc Terlinden. He provisionally succeeds Bishop Johan Bonny, who stepped down from this position in July after 15 years, the bishops announced on their website. Terlinden admitted that there had been a “culture of secrecy and silence” in the Church in the past, which made each of these tragedies even more difficult to bear.
It was also said that Pope Francis wanted to meet 15 victims of sexual abuse during his visit to Belgium. At the express request of several victims, the meeting will take place in complete discretion. Therefore, neither the place nor the time of the meeting will be disclosed, the bishops said. The meeting between those affected and the Pope could be “an important symbolic step alongside all the concrete measures that have already been taken and will follow”, said Terlinden, who has been Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels for a year.
Francis will begin his visit on 26 September in Luxembourg and travel on to Belgium that evening, where he will stay until 29 September. The Pope himself has expressed his desire to meet those affected by sexualised violence in the Belgian church. According to an appeal launched by the Bishops’ Conference in June, more than 80 victims have come forward.
New action plan to combat abuse
They were invited to a meeting at the beginning of September to jointly define messages and expectations to be conveyed to Francis on behalf of the entire group. In order to create a climate of listening and authentic dialogue with the head of the Church, the Vatican has asked Belgium’s bishops to limit the meeting to 15 people. Men and women from all the provinces of Belgium and from various groups of people concerned will take part. Each and every one of them will have the opportunity to address the Pope in person. All others have been invited to write a letter, which will be handed over to Francis personally.
At the same time, the Bishops’ Conference announced that it is currently working on a new action plan to combat abuse in the Catholic Church. This is partly based on recommendations from parliamentary committees, the results of research at the Catholic University of Leuven and dialogue with those affected. The aim is to publish the new plan in the autumn. (tmg/KNA)