Pope Francis concluded a tumultuous visit to Belgium on Sunday, urging the Church to confront its sexual abuse crisis and demanding justice for survivors. He spoke at Brussels’ main sports stadium before departing for Rome, emphasizing that there is 'no place' for abuse or cover-ups.
BRUSSELS — Pope Francis demanded Sunday that priestly sexual abuse rs be judged and their bishops stop covering up their crimes as he ended a troubled visit to Belgium by praising the courage of survivors of a scandal that has devastated the church’s credibility.
Francis was celebrating a Mass under a spectacular sun in Brussels’ sports stadium before heading back to Rome. The stadium is named for King Baudouin, whom Francis had praised for having abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than give his assent to a parliament-approved bill legalizing abortion. Sunday's Mass was to beatify Spanish nun Ana de Jesus, who made a vow of chastity at 10, entered religious life the following year and helped St. Teresa of Avila reform the Carmelite religious order. The Vatican is holding her up as a model of someone who lived through a time of scandal and brought people back to the faith.
The main reason for the trip was to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Leuven/Louvain Catholic University, the oldest Catholic university in the world and long the Vatican’s academic fiefdom in Belgium. They noted that the encyclical virtually ignores women, cites no female theologians and contributes to their “invisibility” in the church and society. Women have long complained they have a second-class status in the church, barred from the priesthood and positions of power despite doing the lion’s share of the work educating the young, caring for the sick and passing on the faith.
“We cannot agree on his position for sure,” said rector Francoise Smets. “We are fighting against discrimination for women, and we would like women to have another role in the society and in the church also.”
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