Pope Francis asked this Sunday in Brussels that cases of sexual violence in the Church not be covered up, at the closing of your visit to Belgium. The Supreme Pontiff presided over a mass before some 40,000 faithful at the King Baudouin stadium, and in his homily he referred to the issue, which occupied an important part of the visit to the country.
“There is no place for abuse. There is no place for covering up abuse. I ask everyone not to cover up abuse, I ask bishops not to cover up abuse and condemn abusers,” the Pope said.
Pope Francis against sexual abuse
Francis also referred to the strictly confidential meeting he held on Friday with 17 victims of sexual assault in the Belgian Catholic Church.
Regarding this meeting with victims, Francis said that he felt “their suffering as abused. I repeat it here: in the Church there is room for everyone. But everyone will be judged.”
“Evil cannot be hidden. Evil must be exposed, made known and the abuser judged, even if it is a layman or a bishop,” he added.
The scandals about sexual assaults in the Belgian Church were a central point in the concerns of the Pope’s interlocutors during his visit.
The Pope emphasized the importance of listening to “the suffering of the victims”, to “make them feel our closeness and offer them all possible help, to learn from them to be a church that serves everyone without dominating anyone.”
“One of the roots of violence is the abuse of power, when we use the roles we have to crush others or manipulate them,” said Jorge Bergoglio.
In his speech, Francis stated that “women are fertilely welcomed, cared for, and vitally given,” in a phrase that the Catholic University considered typical of a “reductionist position.”
Pope Francis condemned the attacks in Lebanon and Gaza
This Sunday, Francis also called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza. “I call on all parties to immediately cease fire in Lebanon, in Gaza, in the rest of Palestine, in Israel,” said the Supreme Pontiff, insisting that “too many people continue to die day after day in the Middle East.”
The mass celebrated at the King Baudouin stadium – before a crowd that included the Belgian king, Philip, and his wife, Matilda – was the closing event of the papal visit to Belgium.
The sovereign pontiff, 87 years old, had entered the stadium in a “popemobile” and toured the enormous space blessing the faithful.
Source: AFP
Source: Ambito
