Flanders is looking into cutting subsidies from municipal authorities to religious communities such as the Catholic Church, after large-scale indignation over the recent Godvergeten documentary about sexual abuse in the institution.
The broadcast of the VRT documentary Godvergeten (which roughly translates to 'Godforsaken') in which victims of sex abuse by clerics gave testimonies along with their relatives, sent shockwaves through Flanders. It is now provoking ministers to rethink how the Catholic Church and other religious institutions are funded in Belgium.
"In total, local authorities contribute €60 million per year to cover the shortages of the Flemish religious communities," Flemish Minister for Coexistence Bart Somers said on Flemish radio on Thursday. This mainly concerns maintenance costs and energy bills to maintain the buildings, he explained. The majority goes to the Catholic communities.
Municipalities are obliged to step in if the local religious community cannot afford the maintenance of the buildings, following the 2004 Worship Services Decree. Bills for minor maintenance works and insurance also fall under this scheme.
Tax money from non-believers
The Flemish liberal Open VLD party now wants to put an end to this. Earlier this year, Somers ordered a study from the University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen) to investigate how the decree can be modernised. The result will be published in the spring of 2024.
A municipality cannot be obliged to make up losses "with tax money from non-believers," said Somers, adding that municipalities should be able to choose whether to intervene or not. "That is part of the autonomy of the board. If a municipality considers it important to donate money, that is possible. If the board considers faith a private matter, there must be the option not to do so."
In the meantime, all Belgian political parties support the demand for a parliamentary committee of inquiry into abuse within the Church, as the documentary raises many questions, including about evidence that has been returned to the Church.
Credit: Belga / Siska Gremmelprez
"The whole of Flanders is in shock," said leader of the Flemish socialist Vooruit party Conner Rousseau, in response to the Godvergeten series. "The documentary also raises new questions: how is it possible that thousands of pieces of evidence have simply disappeared or not been used? We cannot accept that the Church considers itself above the law."
Therefore, Rousseau wants to launch a parliamentary commission of inquiry. "They must investigate very clearly why the evidence was concealed. Secondly, we want recommendations about how and why religion is still financed in our country. We can hardly justify giving millions of euros to an organisation that covers up sexual abuse."
The proposal to launch a new commission of inquiry was backed by Francophone socialists PS, ecologists Groen and Ecolo, liberals Open VLD and MR, Christian-democrats CD&V, radical left PVDA-PTB, Flemish right-wing N-VA and far-right Vlaams Belang.
The chair of the Justice Committee, Kristien Van Vaerenbergh, announced that the next session's agenda will include further discussion on the topic. "It is first and foremost important that parliament jointly develops a clear research question, because the result must not disappoint the victims and their loved ones."
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo addressed the victims of the abuse in a six-minute long speech in parliament: "For years, you have felt shame and been powerless because the Church did everything it could to not listen to you."
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He stressed that whoever is responsible "must take responsibility," adding that "genuine regret is needed to allow victims to process, but also to ensure that child abuse never occurs again – not in the church, nor in any place in our society."
"In addition to the legal reasoning, there is also moral reasoning: if, for example, there is a statute of limitations for some cases, this does not – and should not – prevent organisations from taking the right actions," De Croo said. "This is not just about the law, it is also about what is the morally right thing to do."
