ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis ended a tumultuous visit to Belgium on Sunday by doubling down on his traditional views on women and abortion and asking Catholic bishops to stop covering up for predatory priests — a scandal It destroyed the credibility of the church around the world.
Francis revisited the key thorny topics of his trip to Belgium during his in-flight press conference back home, where he praised Belgium’s late King Baudouin as a “saint” for abdicating for a single day in 1990 rather than sign legislation legalizing abortion.
“You need a politician in pants to do that,” Francis said, using a Spanish expression. “You need courage,” he said, adding that Beaudoin’s beatification process was moving forward.
Francis has drawn criticism from some in Belgium for praying at Beaudoin’s grave and calling the abortion law “deadly”, as abortion remains a political issue in Belgium, with new proposals to extend the legal limit for abortion from 12 to 18 weeks.
“Doctors who do this – pardon me for the word – are hired killers. “They are hired killers,” Francis said. “You can’t argue with that. You’re taking a human life.”
It was the second time in as many weeks that Francis was asked about his views on abortion during a press conference on the plane. Upon returning from Asia earlier this month and asked about the upcoming US election, Francis said voters should Choose the “lesser of two evils” When choosing between a candidate who wants to deport immigrants and a candidate who supports abortion rights – a reference to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Francis calls for action on church abuse
Francis used his only Mass in Belgium to publicly demand that priests who abuse young people be punished, and that the church hierarchy stop covering up their crimes. He praised the courage of the victims who spoke about the violations they suffered in impromptu statements before a crowd of about 30,000 people at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
“Evil should not be hidden. Evil must come out into the open,” Francis said to repeated rounds of applause as the crowd took in what he was saying.
Francis deviated from his prepared sermon on Sunday to respond to… Meeting held with 17 survivors of abuse Friday night, where he heard firsthand about the trauma and suffering they endured and the church’s tone-deaf response when they reported the crimes.
Belgium has had a miserable legacy of abuse and cover-ups, and nothing symbolizes the hypocrisy of the Church more than the case of the Bishop of Bruges. Roger Vangeloy. He was allowed to quietly retire in 2010 after admitting that he had sexually abused his nephew for 13 years.
Francis fired him only this year – after 14 years – in a move clearly seen as finally dealing with an issue before he arrives in Belgium.
The victims gave Francis a letter with several requests, including the creation of a global church system of reparations because many say the financial settlements they have received from the church do not even cover the costs of the treatment many need.
Francis praised the courage of the victims and acknowledged that the settlements many received in civil judgments – which he said he believed were a maximum of €50,000 – were not enough.
He said: “We have a responsibility to help those affected and take care of them.” “Some need psychological help: (we must) help them with that.”
Criticisms of Francis and calls for church reform in Belgium
Francis’s visit to Belgium was always going to be difficult, given the circumstances the country is going through History of clergy sexual abuse And the comprehensive secularization trends that have emptied its lofty cathedrals and churches.
But it is not clear whether he or his entourage expected such sharp public expressions of anger or clear calls for reform from the Belgian intellectual elite.
The main reason for the trip was to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Catholic University of Louvain/Louven, the oldest Catholic university in the world and the long-time academic fiefdom of the Vatican in Belgium.
But the Dutch-speaking dean of the campus told Francis that the abuse scandal had so damaged the church’s moral authority that it would do everything in its power to reform if it wanted to regain its credibility and relevance. Luke Sales suggested that opening up greater roles for women — including the priesthood — and being more welcoming to LGBT people and Catholics would be a good place to start.
Francis heard a similar call from French-speaking campuses, where students organized a critical reading of his popular environmental pamphlet “Be Blessed” in which they called for a “paradigm shift” in the way the church views women.
They point out that the encyclical effectively ignores women, does not cite female theologians, and contributes to the “invisibility” of women in the Church and society. Women have long complained that they have Second-class status in the churchHe was barred from the priesthood and positions of authority despite doing the lion’s share of the work teaching the youth, caring for the sick, and transmitting the faith.
Francis, an 87-year-old Argentine Jesuit, said he was impressed by what they had to say. But he repeated his frequent words about the woman being the “fertile” educator who completes the man, and that regardless of that, “the church is the woman.”
His words sparked a notable rebuke from the Catholic university that invited him. As soon as he finished speaking, Louvain issued a statement expressing “lack of understanding and rejection” of his views on women, which he described as “deterministic and reductive.”
“We certainly cannot agree with his position,” said university president Françoise Smits. “We fight against discrimination against women, and we would like women to have another role in society and in the church as well.”
During the press conference on the plane, Francis took a dig at women and criticized the Louvain students for what he said was a “pre-prepared” statement, which was distributed as soon as his remarks had finished.
Francis insisted that women’s emphasis on priestly ministry was misplaced given his claims that they are already more important than men.
“I always talk about the dignity of women,” Francis said, “and I said something that I cannot say about men: the Church is a woman.” “Women are more important than men because the Church is a woman.”
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP cooperation With The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., the AP is solely responsible for this content.
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