On Saturday, November 8, Pope Leo XIV received in the Vatican a delegation of fifteen Belgian victims of sexual abuse within the Church. The meeting, which lasted two hours—half an hour longer than planned—was described by those present as “human” and “listened to attentively,” although it revealed the tensions between the victims and the Belgian Catholic hierarchy, especially with the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, mons. Luc Terlinden, whose dismissal was requested by some participants.
A long-awaited audience
The meeting with the Pope fulfilled a promise made by his predecessor, Francis, during his pastoral visit to Belgium in September 2024. The appointment with Leo XIV had a bumpy start: the delegation had a scheduled meeting with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Víctor Manuel Fernández, but it was canceled—the Argentine cardinal “does not work on Fridays,” according to the newspaper Le Soir—.
Aline Colpaert, a member of the group, assured that the Pope “demonstrated humanity” and agreed on the importance of stronger training for future priests to protect them from the risk of committing abuses. According to the witness, Leo XIV “acknowledged having received that training during his own vocational process,” although he clarified that “it is not an absolute guarantee.”
Demands and disappointment
Another member of the delegation, Jean Marc Turine, highlighted that the new pontiff “listens and seems to understand,” and noted his “dynamism and closeness.” However, he also lamented the lack of institutional commitment from the Belgian Church, which he accused of “evading its responsibility” in matters of economic compensation, shifting the costs to social security.
“The Pope promised to pressure the Church in Belgium to assume its responsibility and expedite the indemnities—explained Turine—, but he acknowledged having little real influence. He repeated several times that he has only been in office for six months and that he does not know the situation in depth.”
In the face of that perception of distance, several victims handed over a letter requesting the dismissal of Archbishop Luc Terlinden, whom they accuse of “lacking even the slightest empathy for the victims.”
The figures of reparation
According to De Standaard, the group wants the Church to recognize the lifelong cost of the trauma, estimated at “one million euros per victim.” This is not a formal demand, Turine clarified, but rather an assessment of the psychological, physical, and social damage.
The Dignity foundation, created by the Belgian Church in 2022, currently offers 3,000 euros in aid for psychotherapeutic care, in addition to out-of-court settlements that, since 2012, range from 2,500 to 25,000 euros. For the victims, these figures are “insignificant” compared to a lifetime of suffering.
The issue of reparations remains thorny also in United States, the Pope Leo XIV’s country of birth. There, numerous dioceses—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Milwaukee, among others—have declared bankruptcy after facing thousands of lawsuits. The difference, according to the Belgian victims, is that the North American judicial system has forced the Church to compensate with much higher amounts, while in Belgium—according to the media—the State continues to assume part of the economic burden.