Report: Child Abuse Widespread In Belgium's Catholic Church

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09/10/10

(RTTNews) - A report published Friday by a Belgian Catholic Church-backed commission that probed allegations of sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy revealed that such abuse cases have been reported in nearly every diocese in the country since 1950.

"Almost every institution, every school, particularly boarding schools, at one time harbored abuse," Peter Adriaenssens, the head of the commission, told reporters at a news conference held Friday.

"Reality is worse than what we present here today because not everyone shares such things automatically in a first contact with the commission," he added, indicating that the actual extent of child abuses by the clergy may be more that what is suggested in the report.

Adriaenssens said his commission did not find any evidence that the Church had systematically attempted to cover up abuse, but added that it had found instances when the Church failed to take any action against the culprits.

The report released Friday indicated that most of such cases of child abuse were allegedly committed by clergy members between the 1950s and late 1980s, but added that the commission also received complaints against teachers and other officials connected to youth movements.

The 200-page report said the commission had recorded more than 450 cases of child abuse by members of the clergy, pointing out that about two-thirds of the victims were boys aged under 15. The report added that some 100 girls were also among the abuse victims.

"In the case of 13 of the victims, it was reported that they committed suicide and this was related to sexual abuse by a priest," the report said, adding that the commission received most complaints after a Belgian bishop resigned in April over sexual abuse.

Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of the Belgian city of Bruges, had resigned in April after admitting that he had sexually abused a young boy decades ago in the early stages of his career. Vangheluwe, who incidentally is Belgium's longest serving bishop, said later that the abuse continued for a short time after he took over his diocese, adding that his actions committed more than 25 years ago "marked the victim forever".

Vangheluwe was the first high-ranking member of the Catholic Church to be directly implicated in child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church worldwide in recent months. Though several other bishops have resigned recently for covering up the scandal, Vangheluwe was the first bishop to admit molesting a child.

In addition to the Belgian Catholic Church, Catholic Churches in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and the United States have been hit by sex-abuse scandals in recent months, prompting many of them to launch independent probes in such claims.

by RTT Staff Writer