Bredene (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Bredene, Belgium, Alderman Lucas Vandendriessche apologised to central church council chairman Gilbert Vanleenhove after a key registered letter, linked to 3 church budgets, was never sent.
As VRT News reported, Bredene, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium, Alderman Vandendriessche personally emailed an apology to Gilbert Vanleenhove, chairman of the central church council, after a key registered letter was never sent.
“My sincere apologies for the inaccurate accusations this week. I shouldn’t have to apologise personally, but I’ll do so now. I am personally bothered by it. I can prove in black and white that we, at the Council of September 16th, decided to send a registered letter to the central church council requesting consultation. However, apparently, that letter wasn’t sent. That’s very unfortunate, because we drew conclusions from it.”
Vanleenhove called the apology “courageous” and said it showed professionalism.
“It’s to your credit, alderman, that you had the courage to personally apologise for the mistake you made. / accept that apology, hoping that it will enable us to discuss a number of matters in a healthy relationship with each other again.”
“1 hold no grudge, not even towards the two council members who prepared the dossier and brought it to the council. It’s good that they want to give their mandate a meaningful, substantive interpretation. But let that be done with sound and honest arguments.”
In Bredene, a recent dispute over church maintenance budgets has drawn attention. On October 15, 2025, the municipal council declined to approve the financial statements of the 3 local church councils. The primary reason cited was inadequate communication with the Sas church council.
Officials believed that a registered letter had been sent and ignored, raising concerns about transparency and cooperation. However, on October 20, it was revealed that the registered letter had never been sent.
