An investigation is being conducted into allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate behaviour by monks in four abbeys in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Order of Saint Benedict – a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church – is conducting the investigation. The allegations have been made against monks in the Flemish abbeys in Leuven and Affligem, as well as the Dutch abbeys in Doetinchem and Vaals, the Christian newspaper Nederlands Dagblad reported.
Mia De Schamphelaere, coordinator of the Dutch-speaking church contact point for sexual abuse of minors in pastoral relationships, confirmed that she is looking into allegations of sexual abuse by several monks from the abbeys in Leuven and Affligem. However, she declined to provide further details.
"The investigation is ongoing, and we will submit the report to the Order of Saint Benedict," she stated.
In Leuven, the investigation is focused on the Abbey of Keizersberg. In November last year, it came to light that two monks were expelled from the abbey following complaints of sexual abuse and inappropriate behaviour. The Leuven Public Prosecutor's Office has also launched an inquiry into these allegations.
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The investigation is being handled by two different commissions due to the Order of Saint Benedict's decentralised structure.
In the Netherlands, the investigators are looking into inappropriate behaviour by a monk at the Slangenburg Abbey in Doetinchem and allegations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1990s at the Sint-Benedictusberg Abbey near Vaals in Limburg.
