Belgium Church sets out response over abuse scandal Skip to main content

Belgium Church sets out response over abuse scandal

The new head of Belgium's Catholic Church has pledged to focus on the victims of alleged sexual abuse in a first attempt to rebuild public trust.
Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard said that although the Church would not be able to offer immediate solutions, it would set up a victims' support centre.
An independent body to investigate alleged abuse found it had occurred in every diocese over decades.
This commission said some victims were infants when the abuse started.
Archbishop Leonard said the Church would offer "maximum availability" to the victims of sexual abuse

"We have to listen to their questions," he said of parishioners, "to re-establish their dignity and help to heal the suffering they have endured.
"We want to learn the lessons of the errors of the past. The reflections and conclusions contained in the report [on sexual abuse in the church] will be taken on board," he added.
He said the Church wanted to create a centre for "recognition, reconciliation and healing", but that given the scale of the challenge, it would not be ready before the end of the year.
Shock The level, extent and duration of abuse revealed last week shocked even members of the commission set up by the Church to investigate the allegations, says the BBC's Jonty Bloom in Brussels.
It found that abuse occurred at the hands of priests, teachers, lay workers and in at least one case, a bishop, and totalled some 300 cases.
The commission's investigation said it found no evidence of a systematic cover-up.
Belgian media have accused the Church of seeking to hide abuse despite prosecutions of abusers.
Two-thirds of victims were boys, but 100 girls also suffered. Some 13 have committed suicide as a result.
While the independent commission headed by Peter Adriaenssens said last week that it had found no indication that the Church had systematically sought to cover up cases, Mr Adriaenssens said its findings were a "body blow" to the Church in Belgium.
Many alleged victims came forward to testify to the commission after the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned this year, admitting to having sexually abused a boy before and after becoming a bishop.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11281071
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