BELGIUM
The Brussels Times
Sunday, 09 April 2017
At the initiative of victims, the Mensrechten in de Kerk work group and Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, there was an installation ceremony for the piece “Esse est Percipi” (To exist is to be recognised).
It is dedicated to the memory of all victims of sexual abuse by Church members. The ceremony was held in the Koekelberg basilica at 11am on Saturday.
More than 150 people attended the ceremony, including many Church representatives. It was paid for by victims and victim’s families. The statue, which is a little infant’s dress, was unveiled during the ceremony. It is similar to other statues in Antwerp and Bruges, and symbolises destroyed childhood and fragility.
Linda Opdebeeck, the President of the Human Rights within the Church workgroup (Mensrechten in de Kerk), and someone from the association gave speeches in the name of the victims. They said although the beginning of their involvement with the Church was traumatising, they were able to appreciate the Church’s progressive acceptance of the severity of the incidents. This acceptance had started to forge a path to reconciliation.
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