‘Condemn the abusers’: Pope demands judgment for pedophile priests as Belgium tour ends

BRUSSELS — Pope Francis said Sunday that bishops who have abused children need to be brought to justice and not protected by church authorities, following several days of public outrage in Belgium over the Catholic Church’s dark record of obfuscation of pedophilia in its ranks.

“Evil must not be hidden. Evil must be brought out into the open,” Francis said in unscripted remarks to thousands of people gathered for a mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels to conclude his visit to the country.

“Let it be known, as some abuse victims have done, and with courage,” he added. “Let it be known. And let the abuser be judged. Let the abuser be judged, whether layperson, priest or bishop: Let the abuser be judged.”

The remarks came at the close of an extraordinary papal trip to Belgium during which both the country’s king and prime minister excoriated the pope for the failure of the Catholic Church to deal with child abuse and urged him to do more. 

“Words alone are not enough, concrete steps must also be taken,” PM Alexander De Croo said during his meeting with Francis and Belgium’s King Philippe at Laeken Castle in Brussels on Friday. 

Since 2012 there have been over 700 reported cases of clerical child abuse in Belgium. Among the most excruciating episodes was the Church’s indulgent treatment of Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who was allowed to retire in 2010 after admitting to having sexually abused his nephew for 13 years. The bishop was only defrocked by Francis earlier this year in an apparent effort to draw a line under the saga. 

On Sunday, the pope also made reference to his two-hour Friday meeting with 17 victims of abuse, many of whom had sought reparations after their experience at the hands of priests left them psychologically scarred and destitute.

“I heard their suffering as abuse victims and I repeat here: In the Church, there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone, but we will all be judged and there is no place for abuse, no place for covering up abuse. I ask everyone: Do not cover up abuses,” he said Sunday. “I ask the bishops: Do not cover up abuses. Condemn the abusers and help them to heal from this disease of abuse.”

While Francis has taken steps to increase transparency and thwart the concealment of abuse, he has also come under scrutiny for his handling of cases closer to him personally. He drew sharp criticism, for example, after reports that he had sought to protect his friend, the Slovenian priest and artist Marko Rupnik, who was alleged to have sexually assaulted multiple women over a period spanning 30 years. 

Rampant abuse of minors is also widening rifts between Rome and influential bishops conferences in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, which have in recent years pressured the Vatican to update the Church’s ancient law to offer better protection for minors.