Roger Vangheluwe

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Bishop Vangheluwe (2007)

Roger Joseph Vangheluwe (born November 7, 1936 in Roeselare (French Roulers), West Flanders ) is Bishop Emeritus of Bruges .

Life

After studying Catholic theology , Biblical languages and mathematics at the Catholic University of Leuven , he was ordained a priest on February 1, 1963 . He was active in education, pastoral care and as dean in social work.

From 1968 to 1984 Vangheluwe was a professor at the Grootseminarie , the seminary of the diocese of Bruges. From 1969 onwards he was vicar in the district of Izegem, Roeselare, Staden en Tielt and its district secretary from 1977 to 1984.

On December 15, 1984 he was appointed 25th Bishop of Bruges by Pope John Paul II . He was ordained bishop by the Archbishop of Mechelen, Godfried Cardinal Danneels on February 3, 1985 in Bruges ; Co - consecrators were his predecessor Emiel-Jozef De Smedt , Eugeen Laridon , auxiliary bishop in Bruges, Jean Huard , bishop of Tournai and Rémy Victor Vancottem , auxiliary bishop in Mechelen-Brussels.

He was President of the Commission for Deacons in the Belgian Bishops' Conference . He was also secretary of Caritas Catholica Flanders and of the Justice and Peace Network (Netwerk Rechtvaardigheid en Vrede). Vangheluwe has published several books. At the time of his resignation, he was the longest-serving bishop in Belgium.

Allegations of abuse and resignation

Vangheluwe offered to resign after allegations of sexual abuse against him, which he admitted to be correct. According to his own statement, he has repeatedly abused a nephew; this happened before and after his episcopal ordination in 1985. On April 23, 2010 his resignation was accepted according to can. 401 § 2 CIC (illness or 'other serious reasons') of Pope Benedict XVI. accepted.

According to media reports, Benedict XVI. the request for resignation one hour after becoming aware of the request for resignation and therefore exceptionally quickly. The chairman of the Belgian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard , said the day of the resignation petition that the Belgian bishops to the Vatican impeachment had applied for Vangheluwe when the bishop his resignation would not be offered. It was the first resignation of a bishop, which was officially justified with self-committed child abuse. In April 2015, Léonard himself was fined 10,000 euros by the Liege Court of Appeal for covering up sexual abuse by the priest Gilbert Hubermond in the diocese of Namur . The amount was paid to the priest's victim as compensation.

On April 14, 2011, Vangheluwe admitted in an interview that he had sexually abused another nephew. Years ago, he had paid the victim's family large sums of money in hush money. At the time of the confession, Vangheluwe was at the instigation of the Vatican in a monastery in the French Loire Valley . In the same interview that sparked indignation in Belgium, the bishop claimed not to be a pedophile . It was not possible to file a complaint in the aforementioned cases because the abuse of the two nephews was time barred.

In August 2012, a sexual abuse investigation was launched against Vangheluwe. The subject of the investigation is the allegation that Vangheluwe abused a home child in Loker , a district of the municipality of Heuvelland in West Flanders, in the 1990s . Vangheluwe denies the allegations.

Disciplinary action against Vangheluwe

The successor Bishop of Bruges, Jozef De Kesel , unsuccessfully suggested to Vangheluwe at the beginning of September 2010 to apply for a return to the laity . According to the order of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Vangheluwe is not allowed to stay in his home country. He must undergo a spiritual and psychological evaluation by a specialist appointed by the Holy See. He is not allowed to exercise the priestly service in public. In this case, disciplinary measures are reserved for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and ultimately for the Pope himself. According to the press release from the Holy See, an overarching assessment of the situation has begun, but a decision will take time.

Web links

Individual evidence

Commons : Roger Vangheluwe  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  1. Robert Wielaard: Roger Vangheluwe, Belgian Bishop Quits Over Abuse ( Memento of 25 April 2010 at the Internet Archive ); The Huffington Post , April 23, 2010 issue.
  2. ^ Rinuncia del Vescovo di Brugge (Belgio) ; in: Holy See Press Office, Daily Bulletin of April 23, 2010.
  3. Christoph Lennert: "Black Day for the Church in Belgium". Belgian bishop admits sexual abuse and resigns ; Domradio , notification of April 23, 2010
  4. Primate of Belgium convicted of abuse . Austrian Broadcasting Corporation , April 24, 2015
  5. ^ Indignation in Belgium , Catholic News Agency , April 15, 2011
  6. NYtimes.com
  7. ^ Belgium: nuns defend ex-bishop Vangheluwe , Domradio , August 17, 2012
  8. ^ Katholische Presseagentur, Vienna: Blast effect: Belgian church leaders suggest Vangheluwe laicization ; kath.net , notification from September 9, 2011
  9. ^ Statement by the Director of the Holy See Press Office
predecessor Office successor
Emiel-Jozef De Smedt Bishop of Bruges
1984-2010
Jozef De Kesel