London, England, Jun 16, 2022 / 10:21 am
Pope Francis has accepted a Belgian Catholic bishop’s request not to be made a cardinal at a consistory in August.
Bishop Lucas Van Looy, the 80-year-old emeritus bishop of Ghent, was due to receive the red hat with 20 other churchmen in Rome on Aug. 27.
A June 16 statement from the Belgian bishops’ conference said: “The announcement of the creation of Mgr. Lucas Van Looy, emeritus bishop, as a cardinal has provoked many positive reactions, but also criticism that as Bishop of Ghent (2004-2020) he did not always react vigorously enough against abuses in the pastoral relationship.”
“To prevent victims of such abuses from being hurt again as a result of his cardinalate, Bishop Van Looy asked the pope to dispense with his acceptance of the appointment. Pope Francis agreed to his request.”