Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has summoned the Vatican’s ambassador to Belgium for a discussion following remarks made by Pope Francis during his visit last week.
“My message will be clear. What happened is unacceptable,” De Croo stated during a plenary session of the Chamber on Thursday.
During his visit, the Pope used very strong language to describe abortion, calling it “murder” and later labelling doctors who perform them as “hitmen”.
Pope Francis also visited the tomb of King Baudouin in the royal crypt at Laeken. According to a Vatican statement, the Pope praised Baudouin’s “courage” for choosing to “step down from his position as King to avoid signing a murderous law,” referring to the partial decriminalisation of abortion.
"On this you cannot argue. You are killing a human life," the pontiff said. He called King Baudouin a "saint" for refusing to sign legislation legalising abortion in 1990. This unprecedented refusal required Baudouin abdicate for a day rather than to carry out the monarch's formal function.
'We shall not be lectured to'
“It is totally unacceptable for a foreign Head of State to comment on our country’s laws in such a way. The time when the Church dictated terms is behind us,” De Croo asserted, responding to Sarah Schlitz (Ecolo-Groen), Katja Gabriëls (Open Vld), Charlotte Deborsu (MR), and Caroline Désir (PS).
De Croo clarified that no visit to the Laeken crypt was on the official programme, explaining that it had been coordinated by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Palace, and the universities of Louvain (KUL) and Louvain-la-Neuve (UCLouvain). The Pope insisted on visiting the crypt, a visit described “after the fact” as “purely private.”
“There were, however, official communications from the Vatican,” the Prime Minister noted, describing the visit as “less private than announced.” He demanded respect for women, stating they should be able to decide freely about their bodies without Church interference.
De Croo also reminded that the Vatican envoy had been summoned previously concerning the sexual abuse case involving former Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe.
