Pope Francis received a delegation of Belgian bishops, led by Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels, in Rome on Friday.
The meeting covered the Pope's recent visit to Belgium and the handling of sexual abuse cases within the Church. Archbishop Terlinden described the exchange as fraternal, where they could discuss everything openly, including less favourable matters.
Pope Francis reportedly holds fond memories of his visit to Belgium, particularly the Hope Happening festival that gathered thousands of young people in Heysel. According to Archbishop Terlinden, the Pope has a positive view of his visit and truly appreciates Belgium.
The delegation elaborated on both the current measures and future plans regarding the handling of sexual abuse cases within the Church in Belgium. The Archbishop reiterated the fact that the Pope supported these attempts.
'Aware of secularisation'
The bishops felt that the Pope was urging the Belgian Church to progress further. "He is very aware of the secularisation in the country and encourages the bishops to continue engaging in dialogue with society," said Archbishop Terlinden.
A record-breaking 14,251 people asked to be debaptised last year following a sexual abuse scandal sparked by the VRT documentary Godvergeten (loosely translated as "Godforsaken" in English). This is more than ten times the yearly average of requests to be deregistered from the Church.
Another 524 people signed an open letter two weeks ago asking to be debaptised out of "disappointment" at the Pope's comments about women and abortion during his trip to Belgium.
