Belgian bishop: U.S. abuse response not for us
Tough U.S. norms about dealing with clerical sex abuse that have been hailed as a model by the Vatican aren't appropriate for Belgium, even as it deals with dozens of new reports of priests molesting children, a leading archbishop told reporters on Friday.
Brussels Archbishop Andre-Mutien Leonard said the context in which the U.S. norms were created — amid a major scandal in 2002 — required a much tougher response than what Belgium or Europe requires, the Associated Press reports. But he said the Belgian church nevertheless was taking a firm stance against pedophile priests, albeit a more measured one than in the U.S.
"In Belgium, we are truly determined to be firm, transparent and rigorous on this question, but perhaps the European context, the Belgian context is not the same as the American context," he said. "In Belgium, we always like to speak in a language that can be very firm but one might say 'velvety' — a bit soft. But firm."
Leonard spoke to reporters Friday after a week of previously scheduled meetings with Vatican officials that followed the April announcement that the country's longest-serving bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, had resigned after admitting he sexually abused a boy.
The revelation has shaken the Belgian church, sparking what Leonard has said was a "crisis in confidence" in an institution that has already seen a sharp decline in the number of priests in recent years.
The pope addresses the Belgian clergymen Saturday.
Cardinal Joseph Levada, the American who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is in charge of clerical abuse cases, has said the U.S. norms could be a model for bishops around the world — as well as for Boy Scouts, public schools and other institutions catering to children.
"I do think that the United States can rightly offer a model and I will look forward to helping my brother bishops around the world see what can be done if you take good concrete steps," to screen and educate priests and establish safe environment programs for children, Levada told U.S. public broadcaster PBS last month.
The U.S. norms, which the Vatican accepted as church law in the U.S., bar credibly accused priests from any public church work while claims against them are under investigation. Diocesan review boards, comprised mostly of lay people, help bishops oversee cases. Clergy found guilty are permanently barred from public ministry and, in some cases, ousted from the priesthood.
The U.S. policy does not specifically order all bishops to notify civil authorities when claims are made. Instead it instructs bishops to comply with state laws for reporting abuse, and to cooperate with authorities. All dioceses were also instructed to advise victims of their right to contact authorities themselves.
The Belgian church in 2000 created an independent panel of experts to look into abuse complaints, but it quickly clashed with the church leadership. The panel has accused the church of tardiness in compensating victims.
Leonard recently posted an appeal on the website of the Belgian church's news agency urging victims and the abusive priests themselves to report abuse to civil authorities, or to the panel of experts at the very least if the statute of limitations has expired.
He didn't mention the duty of bishops to report abuse. Recently the Vatican posted a policy on its website saying bishops should report abuse to law enforcement where civil laws require it.
Hasselt Bishop Patrick Hoogmortens said Friday that clergymen aren't required by law to report such abuse in Belgium. But he said they do so when there is an "urgent" need to remove an abusive priest.
He said that since the sex scandal erupted in Europe nearly two months ago, Belgium's panel had received reports from more than 150 alleged victims.
Comments
The comments by Archbishop Andre-Mutien Leonard are not being reported by the Belgian press or anywhere else in Europe. Once again Nicole Winfield, the author of the quoted story, scoops the the worldwide press in covering another non-story designed to hurt the Church.
Posted by: Dana LaRocca | May 8, 2010 11:26 AM
I have been trying to figure out the reason behind the Belgian Bishop's comments since I saw them here. In one regard, it does not make sense to me, even from the typical Catholic perspective. The handling of the abuse was a tactical success for them in the US in a strange way. They had to get right with the law, but they avoided all the life-changes that go along with that. In in other words, think of an individual, or practically any other group for that
matter, who had been involved in the depth of collective depravity they have. To get right with the law would have involve a change of perspective, at the very least . But it hasn't for them in US, it has only involved actually complying with the law, which strangely was radical enough. And their continued assertion that this was all basically a problem of society, or families, only tells you that their compliance will be minimal because they don't see it as their problem, get it?. The letter, not the spirit of the law is what they will be following. This attitude was specifically on display by my erstwhile friend, now Bishop Joseph Tyson, on a site called, in rigidly typical Catholic fashion "See, Celebrate and Live". Of course those of us who spent years in Catholic education might be a bit amused that such vaunted terms are applied to news of Catholic schools! Anyways, here is Joe, once liberal, committed, and clued-in to institutional overrreach trying to smuggle in bland explanations for the moral death visited by priests on the world around them. Let me tell you, Joe was someone who understood the score years ago, and wanted to do the "change it from the inside" thing. But now, of course Bishop Joe is blaming society not the peculiarities of the Church. And he his specifically recommending a perfect duo of articles for his school-world to soothe their worries about the Church. I kid you not --- he provides coupled articles by Michael Sean Winters and George Weigel! I swear that when I commented on the de facto coming civil union of phony left and perfervid right in the Church I had not seen this! Mazeltof boys!
So with all this we can ask: Why wouldn't the European Bishops want to get the Americans lubricious success as their own. I had to think about this one. Finally I dwelled on the time I spent in Duesseldorf Germany and my memories of various Catholic priests there. From my admittedly limited experience with European priest I offer this guess. Today's article in the Times about a priest in Boston who is all gabby and interactive with disillusioned Catholics is right on point for this. Americans expect people to make a public interface --emotional blood letting -- to let things go. In Europe priests were more remote. Distantly friendly at best. So I think the thought that to get the same results as the American they will have jump in the same cloying game is too much culturally for them . I think it is that simple.
Whatever the case, what you can expect more of from all these types is talk about population. On right wing Catholic sites they now talk non-stop about babies and increased population the Third World. They all gave up so much to be involved and one way or another, we know, so even by vast and poor populations, they are going to have their pot of gold.
Posted by: Peter Fuchs | May 9, 2010 1:20 PM
Peter, did the the Belgian Bishop really make those comments?
The only place I can find them are in Ms, Winfield's article or in quotes from that article. I would like to know the context of his words for two reasons. First, it seems likely that the Vatican will end up adopting international standards similar to American standards. Cardinal Levada has said is much. So it seems to me that if Archbishop Andre-Mutien Leonard has a contrary opinion that it would be an important story. It isn't, and that takes me to the second reason that I would like to know the context of his statement. And that is that Ms. Winfield's articles on these scandals has been less than accurate and highly slanted.
If you, or anyone, can provide a link to his comments that do not originate from Ms. Winfield's article I would appreciate it if you would post it.
Posted by: Dana LaRocca | May 9, 2010 7:10 PM
Dana,
You may have a point there. One thing seems strange anyways, the hierarchy of the Roman Church goes out of its way NOT to be quoted in media. So the fact that he is quoted as speaking so categorically may be, as you suggest, a reason to doubt it. This would solve the quandary too. It seems they would want to follow the American plan because, well, they dodged a bullet. But, their general fatuousness in the face of serious issues might be taken as something more than a bullet, rather a kind of spiritual and moral land-mine waiting to erase the last ounce of their personal authenticity. All this in the name of bringing people closer to God. It defies description as a phenomenon of self-deception.
Posted by: Peter Fuchs | May 9, 2010 8:39 PM