Pope Francis has wrapped up a weekend trip to Belgium by praising victims and demanding that sexually abusive clergy be judged, after facing strong criticism that the Catholic Church was failing to face up to the problem.
"There is no place for abuse," the pontiff said at a celebration of Mass at Brussels' King Baudouin soccer stadium on Sunday.
"There is no place for the cover-up of abuse.... I ask bishops, do not cover up abuse.
"Evil must not be hidden," he told a gathering of some 30,000 people.
The 87-year-old pontiff was responding to the outrage over sex abuse within Belgium's clergy that has devastated the church's credibility.
He had been pressed by high-profile figures at three of the five major events on his three-day visit in unusual and sometimes fierce language for a papal trip.
In a meeting with Belgian dignitaries on Friday, both King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for more concrete action to help survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy.
And in later events at two Catholic universities, officials denounced his stance on the role of women in the church and society.
Francis described women as having "a fertile welcome, care (and) vital devotion", prompting the UC Louvain university to issue a press release to express their "disapproval" of his views..
Francis did not specifically mention those criticisms at Sunday's Mass – the last event of his trip – but he did deviate from his prepared homily to reflect the meeting he'd held with 17 survivors of abuse on Friday evening.
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Abuse and cover-up
Belgium, like France, has a legacy of abuse and cover-up.
Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe was allowed to quietly retire in 2010 after he admitted he had sexually abused his nephew for 13 years.
Francis only defrocked him this year – 14 years later – in a move seen as finally dealing with the problem before arriving in Belgium.
Following recent revelations that France's late Abbé Pierre had allegedly sexually abused more than 20 women over a 50-year period and that the church was aware of the priest's behaviour, Francis said the French priest was “a man who did so much good, but he’s also a sinner".
“Abuse, in my judgment, is something demonic, because every type of abuse destroys the dignity of the person,” he said.
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This is not the first time Francis has faced criticism over failing to act to curb abuse within the clergy.
On a trip to Chile in 2018, groups of demonstrators protested outside his events and Catholic churches were attacked before his visit.
But the pope, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, is not usually confronted directly in public by political leaders or Catholic officials organising his events.
(with newswires)
