BRUSSELS (BELGIUM)
Katholisch.de [Bonn, Germany]
February 18, 2025
By Katholische.de
Bishops satisfied with court decision – victims’ representatives disappointed
“Operation Chalice” was the name of a spectacular police raid against Belgium’s bishops in 2010, followed by years of investigations into abuse scandals. Now it is clear: There will be no further trial in the matter.
The years of investigations into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Belgium will not lead to a major trial. This decision was announced by the Council Chamber in Brussels on Monday. As part of the so-called“Operation Chalice“, 68 clergymen, including the former Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe (88), have been under investigation since 2010. They are alleged to have abused minors in the past, in some cases for years. The church was satisfied with the court’s decision, but representatives of the victims expressed their disappointment.
According to Belgian media reports, 37 of the suspects had already died and 4 had already been convicted; in the case of the 27 others, the offences were time-barred because they occurred too long ago. The alleged perpetrators could therefore no longer be brought to justice. An appeal can still be lodged against the decision of the Brussels Council Chamber.
The lawyer for the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Fernand Keuleneer, spoke of a balanced and well-founded decision. In a public statement, the Bishops’ Conference emphasised that it had cooperated fully with the authorities “without concealing facts”.
“Moral responsibility”
At the same time, the bishops reiterated their sympathy. The Church will continue to listen to those affected and take moral action against abuse. According to the rule of law, the offences are time-barred in court, they said in their statement. However, the Catholic Church “assumes a moral responsibility by listening to the victims and recognising their suffering”.
Representatives of the victims and their lawyers announced a thorough examination of a possible appeal. They expressed their disappointment via Belgian media. Not even the hope that their role as victims would be recognised had been fulfilled.
Retired priest and victim counsellor Rik Devillé explained: “The pain of the victims has now become even greater”; and: “Once again, they have to go on living without justice.” He called on the Belgian government to set up a victims’ fund so that all those affected could receive psychological support for as long as necessary.
Police raid
Since a spectacular police raid on the Belgian bishops in 2010, which made headlines as”Operation Chalice”, 15 years of files have been poured over, documents read and traces searched for. The aim of”Operation Chalice” was to investigate whether there was sufficient evidence to initiate criminal proceedings against Catholic clergy for sexual abuse.
The case of Vangheluwe in particular, who had sexually abused two of his nephews for years, had major political repercussions in Belgium. Shortly after his resignation, state abuse investigators stormed church facilities and confiscated files, computers and mobile phones from the bishops gathered in Mechelen.
The then Archbishop of Brussels André Leonard (84) and his predecessor Cardinal Godfried Danneels (d. 2019) had to testify before a parliamentary committee of enquiry. Danneels’ reputation also suffered lasting damage as a tape recording emerged that suggested a planned cover-up of the Vangheluwe case. The former Bishop Vangheluwe was dismissed from the clergy in 2024; the highest canonical penalty for a Catholic priest. (KNA)