Belgium’s prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups here, demanding “concrete steps” to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis’ visit on Friday.
The speech by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip, where the genteel dictates of diplomatic protocol usually keeps outrage out of the public remarks. But even King Philippe had strong words for Francis, demanding the church work “incessantly” to atone for the crimes and help victims heal.
Their tone underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium, where two decades of revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups have devastated the hierarchy’s credibility and contributed to an overall decline in Catholicism and the influence of the once-powerful Catholic Church.
Francis applauded at the end of De Croo’s speech and was expected to meet with victims in private later Friday. “This is our shame and humiliation,” he said in an improvised response.
“Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps,” De Croo told Francis and an audience of royals, church officials, diplomats and politicians at Laeken Castle, the residence of Belgium’s royal family.
“Victims need to be heard. They need to be at the center. They have a right to truth. Misdeeds need to be recognized,” he said. “When something goes wrong we cannot accept cover-ups,” he said. “To be able to look into the future, the church needs to come clean on its past.”