Pope Francis was set to meet Belgian victims of sexual abuse by clergymen on Friday as part of a three-day visit to the country – the first by a pontiff in almost 30 years. FRANCE 24 spoke to two of the victims of abuse, only one of whom was granted an audience with the head of the Catholic Church.
The Church’s dark history of sex abuse has cast a shadow over the visit by the 87-year-old Francis, which also includes a meeting with academics at the Catholic university of Leuven in Dutch-speaking Flanders – whose 600th anniversary next year was the official reason for the pontiff’s trip.
In a blistering start to the visit, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo blasted the Church's legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups as he welcomed the pontiff, demanding “concrete steps” to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests ahead of those of the institution.
“It is our shame and our humiliation,” the pope said in turn, addressing what he called “the tragic instances of child abuse” and stressing that the Church “must seek forgiveness”.
Francis has made combating sexual assault in the Church one of the main missions of his papacy, pushing a “zero tolerance” policy in the wake of wide-reaching abuse scandals around the world.
The Belgian cases stem from the confessions of a disgraced bishop 14 years ago, which prompted thousands of victims to come forward. Their harrowing testimonies were included in a hard-hitting documentary last year that shed light on Church efforts to protect aggressors and difficulties in getting justice.
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Of the 80 people who expressed the wish to meet Francis, only about 15 were set to address the pontiff on Friday. They included Koen Van Sumere, whose rape by priests as a teenager at a Catholic school forced him to undergo several urogenital operations.
Recognised by the Church as a category 4 victim, the one reserved for the most serious abuse, Van Sumere received 10,000 euros in compensation. But that is not enough to cover the costs of the lengthy treatment and therapy he underwent – a point he planned to address in his interview with the pope.
“What I am going to ask him – almost demand – is that, firstly, the perpetrators of violence be punished much more severely,” he told FRANCE 24. “Secondly, I am going to ask him to finally force the Belgian bishops to take immediate measures. They have already made payments in the past, but it was only alms.”
Click on the player above to watch the full report by Alix Le Bourdon and Dave Keating.
