Pope Francis faced a tumultuous reception in Belgium, enduring sharp criticism from the king, prime minister, and university rector for the Catholic Church's handling of clergy sex abuse and its stance on LGBTQ+ issues. He also met with seventeen abuse survivors who shared their harrowing experiences and demanded reparations.
On a brutal day for Pope Francis , the king of Belgium , its prime minister and the rector of the Catholic university that invited him here all ripped into the institution he heads for a spectrum of sins: for covering up cases of clergy sex abuse and being far behind the times on embracing women and the LGBTQ+ community in the church.
Through it all, Francis expressed his remorse, begged forgiveness and promised to do everything possible to make sure such abuses never occur again. 'This is our shame and humiliation,' he said in his first public remarks on Belgian soil. Francis has visited countries with wretched legacies of church wrongdoing before.
After World War II and through to the 1980s, many single mothers were forced by the Belgian church to offer their newborns up for adoption, with money changing hands. Francis said he was 'saddened' to learn of these practices, but said such criminality was 'mixed in with what was unfortunately the prevailing view in all parts of society at this time.'
Pope Francis Belgium Clergy Sex Abuse LGBTQ+ Issues Abuse Survivors
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flockPope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals.
Read more »
Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flockPope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals. They have largely emptied the continent’s magnificent cathedrals and village churches. Francis stops first in tiny but wealthy Luxembourg.
Read more »
Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flockPope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals.
Read more »
Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flockPope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals
Read more »
Pope Francis embarks on his longest trip yet as Catholic Church pivots to AsiaHe is 87 years old and in recent years has battled health difficulties and begun using a wheelchair. But Pope Francis is embarking on the longest trip of his pontificate.
Read more »
Pope Francis embarks on his longest trip yet as Catholic Church pivots to AsiaHe is 87 years old and in recent years has battled health difficulties and begun using a wheelchair. But Pope Francis is embarking on the longest trip of his pontificate.
Read more »