Rome, Italy, Jun 28, 2010 / 18:20 pm
Last week's search by the Belgian police, deemed "Operation Church," was "worthy of the Da Vinci Code," Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard told reporters away from the microphone at a press conference on Saturday. In the latest development, the archdiocesan commission to investigate cases of abuse and provide care for victims was dissolved on June 28.
Following the June 24 search of the crypts in the Cathedral of Mechelen and lockdown of the offices for the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, members of the Church have decried the actions taken by the Belgian judicial system as an overreaction.
Archbishop Leonard said on Saturday that the authorities had the right to search the premises, but he found it "a little amazing" that tombs were also searched and that Belgium's nine bishops were not allowed to leave their meeting room all day.
After the police were reportedly drilled holes in the tombs, cameras were inserted through them to continue the search for "hidden" dossiers on sexual abuse by priests.