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	Pope Is Indignant over Belgian Police Raid of Bishops' Tombs, Vatican Says By Flavia Krause-Jackson The Bloomberg June 25, 2010 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-25/pope-is-indignant-over-belgian-police-raid-of-bishops-tombs-vatican-says.html The Vatican said it was indignant about a Belgian police raid of the graves of two archbishops in an investigation of suspected pedophiles among the clergy. The Vatican voiced "astonishment over how the searches were carried out yesterday by Belgian judicial authorities and its indignation over the violation of the graves," said a statement today by the office of the Secretary of State. Belgian police raided the principal seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium, the residence of the Archbishop of Malines in Mechelen, according to a statement released by the Belgian Bishops' Conference. The police search lasted from 10:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., the statement said. "No explanation was given, but all documents and mobile phones were confiscated and it was referred that nobody could leave the building," the bishops' statement said. "It was not a pleasant experience." Belgian's longest-serving bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned in April after admitting to sexually molesting a boy about two decades ago. He was the first senior Catholic official in Belgium to resign in a scandal that has implicated priests in nations including the U.S., Germany, Ireland and Italy. The graves of Cardinals Jozef-Ernest Van Roey and Leon-Joseph Suenens were searched yesterday by Belgian authorities. Pope Benedict XVI, 83, on June 11 publicly asked for "forgiveness" from victims of sex-abuse crimes committed by Catholic priests and promised to do "everything possible" to shield children from pedophile clerics. Jean-Marc Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor's office, didn't return a voice message left on his mobile phone seeking comment. Contact: fjackson@bloomberg.net
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