Former Belgian Catholic leader defrocked for molesting minors passes away at 89

Authorities announced on Friday the death of a former Belgian bishop, whose acknowledgment of child sexual abuse sparked a nationwide outcry over the extent of paedophile crimes within the Catholic Church.

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Roger Vangheluwe, 89, passed away, prompting the Belgian Bishops’ Conference to issue a statement expressing awareness that the news may unleash a fresh wave of emotions among victims.

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Vangheluwe had resigned as the bishop of Bruges in 2010, after confessing to sexually abusing two of his nephews, with one of the cases spanning 13 years from the 1980s onwards.

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Although he was not prosecuted due to Belgium's statute of limitations, his case led to thousands of people coming forward with accounts of sexual violence within the Church, covering several decades.

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A documentary broadcast in 2023 reignited the scandal in Belgium, prompting the country's bishops to reiterate their call for Pope Francis to defrock Vangheluwe, who had been living in a French abbey.

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In 2024, Pope Francis granted the request, stripping Vangheluwe of all his clerical rights, including the right to say Mass, in a rare and severe punishment.