Brandon Scott
Lo’ay Ayyad, Wissam Jarayseh and Tamer Salameh work in the garden of the Rosary Sisters’ convent in Bethlehem, West Bank, March 16. Photo: OSV News/Debbie Hill Pope Francis has laicised Bishop Emeritus of Bruges, Belgium, Roger Vangheluwe, years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephew when the latter was a minor.
The apostolic nunciature to Belgium said in a statement last week that “serious new elements” had come to light regarding ex-bishop Vangheluwe, who resigned in 2010 after having admitted to the sexual abuse of his nephew from when the youth was five years old.
The “new elements” included the recent testimony of a victim that led to a re-examination of the case. On March 8 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recommended Pope Francis dismiss ex-bishop Vangheluwe from the clergy.
Pope Francis “granted the request, ordering that the proposed sentence be imposed”, the nunciature said.
Ex-bishop Vangheluwe reportedly “asked to be allowed to reside in a place of retreat, without any further contact with the outside world, in order to dedicate himself to prayer and penance”.
The Pope’s hesitation in the matter had threatened to overshadow his planned trip to Belgium: Francis is due to visit the country later this year for the 600th anniversary celebrations of the University of Louvain.
Nicaraguan dictatorship trying to totally eradicate the faith, lawyer charges
With Holy Week upon us, Catholics in Nicaragua are preparing for religious celebrations in the midst of ongoing persecution of the faith by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
For Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and author of the Spanish-language report Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?, the regime “wants to completely eradicate the faith of the Catholic people in order to eliminate the Church”.
In a March 18 Facebook post, Ms Molina reported that for Holy Week 2024, approximately 4,800 outdoor processions have been prohibited throughout the country (this figure includes processions on the four Fridays of Lent). Outdoor processions are a prominent and integral part of Hispanic Catholic piety.