2024-03-21 17:45:43
By decision of Pope Francis on March 11, Roger Vangheluwe is no longer bishop or priest. His dismissal from the clerical state was notified to him this Wednesday, March 20. This is the outcome of a long affair, the former bishop of Bruges having admitted in 2010 sexual violence against his nephews for several years, while he was a priest and even a bishop. For several years, the Belgian episcopate has been calling for this return to the secular state.
A few months ago, the Vangheluwe affair was still a source of anger and incomprehension: “He is still a priest and bishop: his status has not been touched. In Flanders, no one understands this”, declared Mgr Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp, in September. The scandal was strongly revived by the broadcast, last September, of GodForgotten (in French: “Les Obliés de Dieu”).
Tensions even in the political sphere
Impressive by the strength of the testimonies, the Belgian documentary broadcast by the Flemish channel, entirely incriminated, did not mention the work of the parliamentary commission and the bishops listening to the victims, sparking new tensions even in the classroom. policy.
Tuesday March 19, a demonstration led by six activists from the Mouv’Enfants association was organized in front of the Saint-Pierre de Solesmes abbey (Sarthe) to denounce the reception of Roger Vangheluwe in this monastery since his resignation.
Now aged 87, Roger Vangheluwe was bishop of Bruges for twenty-five years. He was guilty of touching two of his nephews while he was in office.
Once the facts were revealed and under media pressure, he resigned on April 23, 2010: “When I was still a simple priest and some time at the beginning of my episcopate, I sexually abused a young person close to me. The victim is still scarred. Over the past decades, I have repeatedly admitted my fault to him and his family and asked for forgiveness. But this did not appease him. Me neither “, he declared that day. He then admitted to touching a nephew, from 1973 to 1986, and it was only later that he would also admit to having attacked a second nephew, for two years.
From the declarations of April 2010, Benedict XVI immediately accepted the resignation of the bishop. Subsequently, from year to year, other victims came forward.
Rome’s delayed response
In 2011, when the Church of Belgium was plunged into an unprecedented abuse crisis, Roger Vangheluwe put the scope of his actions into perspective, daring to describe the sexual violence committed against his nephew over thirteen years as “little relationship”. The facts being prescribed, he was not worried by the courts. Rome, however, had required him to reside in an abbey.
In recent years, the Belgian Episcopal Conference has repeatedly called for his dismissal from the clerical state, but Rome’s response has been slow. We had to wait for a new request in October 2023. In a press release published on March 21, the nunciature specified that, in recent months, “new serious elements concerning the case of the former bishop of Bruges have been reported to the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith”. Elements which could have led to the reopening of the file.
All that remained was to decide on the return to the secular state of Roger Vangheluwe, a decision taken by Pope Francis. Very committed to the Church in the fight against sexual assault, the Belgian government must be satisfied with the sanction pronounced by the Vatican. A closed case, which should avoid any interference with the pope’s trip, scheduled for September 2024.
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