Brussels, Belgium, Sep 13, 2010 / 19:22 pm
Following the release of a “painful” report about sexual abuse, the Catholic Church in Belgium has announced a five-point plan to help respond to allegations. Church leaders have pledged to help more victims and priests to come forward, to collaborate more with law enforcement, to enforce canon law, and to include victims in planning future reforms.
Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels André-Mutien Léonard, speaking on behalf of the country’s bishops, said that the Church will set up a center of “recognition, reconciliation and healing” before December.
Last Friday an independent panel released its report containing the accounts of hundreds of sex abuse victims abused by Catholic clergy in Belgium over the past 50 years. Most of the abuse happened in the 1960s and 1970s. Abuse was present throughout all Belgium dioceses but was especially prevalent at Catholic boarding schools. It included oral and anal abuse as well as forced self-abuse.
The report highlighted the claims of family members that at least 13 victims committed suicide as a result of the abuse, while hundreds more victims said they suffered continued trauma.