a Belgian bishop dismissed by the pope

Roger Vangheluwe, 87, who lives secluded in an abbey in France, “has been returned to the secular state”, specified the spokesperson for the bishops of Belgium.

Pope Francis withdrew his title of bishop from the Belgian Roger Vangheluwe, who still benefited from this status fourteen years after having recognized child criminal acts committed for years, declared the conference of bishops of Belgium, Thursday March 21.

Roger Vangheluwe, 87, who lives secluded in an abbey in France, “was returned to the secular state”, said Tommy Scholtès, spokesperson for the bishops of Belgium, confirming information from the official Vatican News media. He recalled that the gesture had been requested several times in recent years by the bishops of Belgium, judging “shameful that Roger Vangheluwe was able to officially remain bishop and priest”.

At the end of January, the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, also asked the Vatican representative in Brussels, “for the smooth running of the visit of Pope Francis”, scheduled for September in Belgium. It is “an important step for the victims”also noted the Flemish liberal leader on the X network.

Sexual abuse inflicted on two nephews

Roger Vangheluwe was forced to resign as bishop of Bruges in 2010, when he admitted to having sexually abused one of his minor nephews for thirteen years, in the 1970s and 1980s. He then confessed acts committed against a second nephew over two years.

His crimes being prescribed, he was never convicted by the courts, but the scandal resurfaced in the fall of 2023 in Belgium with the broadcast of a shocking documentary denouncing the inaction and silence of the Church for years. decades on sexual violence committed by clergy.

The Belgian bishops then renewed their demand for dismissal. They also argued to the Vatican that the canonical file of Roger Vangheluwe now included “the statement of a victim who recently gave formal testimony” against him.

“The secularization of Roger Vangheluwe means that he can now, in principle, go wherever he wants”added the conference of bishops. “However, it was agreed with the abbey where he resides to this day [l’abbaye de Solesmes, dans la Sarthe] that he can continue to stay there in isolation. The bishops insisted that he actually do it.”