Pope Francis plans a September visit to the Basilica of Koekelberg, Belgium, amidst health concerns and mixed reactions over church scandals.
Pope Francis is anticipated to visit the Basilica of Koekelberg in Brussels in September, linked to his health. In an interview, the Pope announced his desire to visit Belgium in honor of the 600th anniversary of the Catholic University of Leuven. The schedules have since become more definite, including a visit to Brussels’ iconic Basilica of Koekelberg, renowned for its green dome.
“The exact dates of the Pope’s arrival are yet to be decided,” stated Martine Motteux-Abeloos, Director-General of the National Basilica of Koekelberg. However, the spiritual leader will certainly visit the Basilica in September.
Motteux-Abeloos expects this will occur either during the weekends of 21-22 or 28-29 September, although this has yet to be confirmed.
However, the visit does count on the Pope’s health. The 87-year-old’s recent attack with flu and bronchitis resulted in him being compelled to cancel meetings for several days. However several media have since informed his health appears to be improved.
Preparation is still needed both inside and outside the Basilica for the Pope’s visit. “The preparation for the visit requires a lot of work and generates nerves, but it is also an absolute experience for religious people,” stated Motteux-Abeloos.
The last pope’s visit to Belgium was in 1995 when Pope John Paul II traveled there to beatify Father Damien, with his visit confined to Brussels. A decade before, in 1985, the same Pope carried out a more comprehensive tour of the country, including stops in Leuven, Namur, Beauraing, Antwerp, Banneux, Liège, and Mechelen.
The idea of a pope’s visit to Belgium now has generated mixed reactions in the context of a Catholic Church mired in scandal especially following appalling disclosures of the VRT documentary Godvergeten (‘Godforsaken’).
The series, which underscored both abuse and cover-ups, began a parliamentary inquiry and reportedly spurred a surge in Catholics leaving the Church. It also encouraged calls for Belgium’s federal authorities to discontinue paying the salaries of people designated as “ministers of religion,” who include not only the nation’s Catholic priests and deacons but also lay people appointed by bishops.
“As long as Rome remains quiet and does not actively sanction perpetrators and concealers of sexual abuse in the Belgian church, a visit by the Pope to our country is not desirable,” Gwendolyn Rutten (Open VLD) said in September. “Do something or stay away, that must be the unified message.”
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) has frequently asked the Vatican to strip discredited Belgian bishop Roger Vangheluwe of his title before the visit.
Vangheluwe left his post as bishop of Bruges in 2010 after confessing to manipulating his underage cousin for years. De Croo stated the stripping was necessary to ensure the “smooth running” of the trip. Following Vangheluwe’s resignation, an independent report documented 475 abuse complaints against church and church workers from the 1950s to the 1980s.
But the Vangheluwe case surpasses the Belgian Church to this day because the now 87-year-old prelate persists in having the title of bishop.
According to Belgian Catholic media, two bishops visited Vangheluwe in September this year at the monastery where he is obliged to live in obscurity. They asked him to submit his resignation as a bishop to Pope Francis. With a pope’s l visit on the horizon, the tension to resolve the Vangheluwe case will grow, to the frustration of Belgium’s bishops, who state they’ve been asking the Vatican to take additional action for years.
Possibly the abuse crisis will diminish by the time Pope Francis reaches the country, but it’s unlikely to reduce into the background given its depth and intensity. The travel could therefore be similar to Francis’ visit to Ireland in 2018, which drew protests by abuse survivor advocates.
