BRUSSELS (BELGIUM)
Brussels Times [Brussels, Belgium]
September 21, 2024
By Ellen O'Regan
Belgium’s secular community has criticised plans for the Pope to visit the official residence of the royal family and deliver a message “to the nation” later this month, calling it an “unprecedented” erosion of the separation of Church and State.
The Central Secular Council (CAL), which represents both French and Dutch speaking non-denominational communities across Belgium, has sharply criticised the invitation extended to Pope Francis by the Belgian monarchy.
The Pope is scheduled to visit Belgium from 26 to 29 September, at the invite of KU Leuven and UCLouvain as the universities mark their 600th anniversaries.
‘Flouting’ principle of separation
Whilst the visit will be historic for Belgian Catholics (as the first papal visit in almost 30 years), CAL has emphasised that the event “does not justify flouting the principles of separation of Church and State and of neutrality”.
Specifically, CAL is critical of an invitation extended by King Philippe to different bodies and representatives of civil society to listen to “a message from His Holiness Pope Francis to the nation” at Laeken Castle on Friday 27 September.
“This type of invitation is unprecedented and clearly goes against the principle of separation of Church and State,” said Véronique De Keyser, president of CAL.
“His ‘Holiness’ – a notion only recognised by a small part of the Nation – is being offered a privilege to which no head of Church, and a fortiori head of State, has been entitled. And this while most Belgian citizens have philosophical or religious convictions other than those of the Pope,” she said.
No room for debate
CAL noted that Pope Francis’ visit comes in the context of recent findings of clerical abuse, both in Belgium and elsewhere. The organisation said that while the Pope is due to privately meet with 15 Belgian victims of abuse, “sexual abuse by the Church is not on the agenda of his trip”, nor is there space for debate on various contentious issues such as gender identity, euthanasia, and abortion.
The visit of the head of the Catholic Church comes almost exactly a year after the explosive documentary “Godvergeten” (which roughly translates to ‘Godforsaken’) was aired by Flemish broadcaster VRT. The documentary exposed years of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in Flanders, sending shockwaves through the community and giving a voice to victims of abuse perpetrated by religious figures within parish, school and family settings.
CAL also points out that the Pope’s visit coincides with World Abortion Rights Day on 28 September, which they expect will galvanise women this year even more due to the papal context. The centre called for the faith convictions of everyone in Belgium to be respected, in a society where “one religion cannot take precedence over another or over a philosophical movement”.