Belgian Catholic Church Offices Raided in Abuse Inquiry
Published: June 24, 2010
New York Times, BRUSSELS — Belgian authorities heightened pressure on the Roman Catholic Church in a sex-abuse scandal on Thursday, raiding the Belgian church headquarters, the home of a former archbishop and the offices of a commission established by the church to handle abuse complaints.
Police arrived at the church headquarters, the palace of the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, on Thursday morning while the monthly bishops meeting was in progress, a church spokesman said, questioning all of those present, from bishops down to staff members such as cooks and drivers.
“It was half-past 10,” said Eric de Beukelaer, a spokesman for the Belgian archbishop, André-Joseph Léonard. “The police came in and said the house would be searched because there were complaints about sexual abuse on the territory of the archdiocese.” Mr. de Beukelaer said that he was present during the raid and that his cellphone was temporarily confiscated by police.
The search continued until after 7 p.m., Mr. de Beukelaer said. No arrests were made, nor were any charges announced.
The authorities are investigating accusations that members of the Belgian clergy sexually abused children, according to officials. Hundreds of such claims have been raised in Belgium since April, when the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, a popular figure here, admitted to molesting a boy and resigned.
The authorities’ decision to search church property, question bishops and seize documents and other potential evidence represented a major departure in such investigations and a sign that in criminal matters the church will not be afforded special treatment here. This sort of activity “Is extremely rare, very rare, especially in the house of a cardinal,” said Andrea Tornielli, a Vatican expert at the Italian daily Il Giornale. “It’s enormous.”
Although the raids took place during a meeting of senior clerics, a spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office, Jean-Marc Meilleur, said that the timing was a coincidence.
The head of the commission established by the church in 2000 to handle abuse complaints, Peter Adriaenssens, criticized the police for taking the entire stock of records the commission had accumulated, saying he was “appalled” by the raid, according to a Dutch Web site, Het Nieuwsblad.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mr. Adriaenssens, a child psychiatrist and leading Belgian expert on child abuse, said that some of those people who had contacted the commission had done so in confidence and were now worried about who would have access to their statements. He said that the commission had been inundated with calls and e-mail messages from those who had made complaints about abuse.
“We have no idea why this was done,” Mr Adriaenssens said, adding that his impression was that “in recent months a form of paranoia has developed.”
Cases of sexual abuse of minors have added resonance in Belgium because of the notorious Belgian pedophile Marc Dutroux, who was convicted six years ago of child murder, kidnap and rape. Government officials came under significant criticism for mishandling the Dutroux case, which could account for the aggressive response.
Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said in a statement that the raid was “precisely what’s needed, not just in Belgium but in other church offices across the globe.”
“Law enforcement officials must stop giving the Catholic hierarchy a ‘free pass’ when it comes to clergy sex crimes and cover-ups,” Ms. Dorris said. “Police and prosecutors need to step up, and promptly and thoroughly investigate allegations against predator priests and corrupt bishops, and use their full powers to gain access to and control over church records that likely document the crimes and cover-ups.”
The Belgian television station RTL reported the raid on the home of Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who retired in January as Belgium’s archbishop, saying that his computer had been removed. Mr. Tornielli, the Vatican expert, noted that to the best of his knowledge, Cardinal Danneels would have diplomatic immunity as a Vatican official, and would have to have given his permission for police to search his home.
The Vatican had no comment on the searches in Belgium.
“As for the procedure, the bishops have always said we trust justice in making its work, and we don’t have any further comment that we have today,” Mr. de Beukelaer, the archbishop’s spokesman, said.