Bruges: bishop, what bishop?
The erstwhile Bishop of Bruges
The Bishop of Bruges has resigned because he sexually abused a boy 25 years ago.
He has made a full apology, through his superior in Brussels, acknowledging the gravity of his behaviour and that it has scarred the boy’s – now a man, of course – life.
I was in Bruges when Roger Vangheluwe, 73, resigned, but found out only through a text message from Malta.
In Bruges itself it was as though nothing had occurred.
I suddenly noticed what I had failed to do earlier: that this small city is conspicuously devoid of one of the aspects of urban life we take so much for granted: the ubiquitous presence of newspapers, news-sheets, news headlines and posters which blare out the main news items of the day. We take them so much for granted that we don’t notice them until something happens to make us realise that they are not there.
It is possible to walk through the streets of Bruges day after day and not encounter a single news headline – not even in incomprehensible (to me) Flemish. And this in the midst of a scandal of direct and immediate relevance to the place.
The Archbishop of Belgium, Andre Leonard, called a news conference and read out a statement by Vangheluwe: “When I was still just a priest, and for a certain period at the beginning of my episcopate, I sexually abused a minor from my immediate environment. The victim is still marked by what happened. Over the course of these decades I have repeatedly recognized my guilt toward him and his family, and I have asked forgiveness. But this did not pacify him, as it did not pacify me.”
Vangheluwe was due to retire next year. He did not attend the news conference. Pope Benedict XVI has accepted his resignation.
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Li kien nies, kien jaqbez minn fuq il-bell tower kif ghamel Brendan Gleeson.
Suicide is not a sign of strong character. I completely disagree with your statement.
No H.P. Baxxter – that’s no solution. What he should do is give himself up to the Police and request that he be processed according to law and pay the penalties to soceity and to the victim as may be determined.
eros, it is not enough that any individual ‘gives himself up to the police’ for that individual to be prosecuted. There must be corrobrating evidence for that to be done – in this particular case, the boy/man who was subjected to the abuse, yet the latter has never opted for that.
It is yet another instance that illustrates why abuse of minors remains undetected and rampant.
It is also another instance that emphasises the responsibility and the need for those administering children’s homes and similar institutions to have permanently in place procedures for nipping such abuse in the bud.
Isn’t an admission evidence enough?
[Daphne – No. You need testimony in court. There’s something called due process, which applies even to bishops, even though some who insist that bishops should be equal before the law really mean to say that they should be less fairly treated.]
Ipprova ifhem ir-referenza cinematografika tieghi….
[Daphne – Spell it out, Baxxter. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/ ]
Acerbic wit loses its bite when you have to spell it out.
That film was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting some piece of sentimental fluff but I was proved wrong.
Anyway, according to Belgian law the statute of limitations expired in this case, so there is nothing that can be done legally.
By the way, I’m not suggesting anything should be done illegally either!
This man has finally confessed to a despicable act that, hopefully was a one-off. The biggest problem is predators who actively seek and repeatedly abuse their authority on those they are supposed to protect.
Hopefully, on the balance of things, this man has done a lot of good as well…
I find this incredible, and I mean that in a very literal way. It is very hard to believe. Everywhere I go I see lots of newspapers, many of them distributed for free. What does this mean? Belgians are not interested in what’s happening in their society? That they’re frequently illiterate? That news is spread exclusively by electronic means? What is the point of a news conference in a city without newspapers?
Any thoughts on this?
[Daphne – I imagine they have newspapers. They’re just not a ‘presence’ in the way we have come to take for granted. Now that I think of it, not once did I notice anyone carrying a newspaper or reading one in the countless tea-rooms, cafes or on park-benches in the sunshine. How very odd.]
Assuming that all of Belgium is like the small city of Bruges is unwise, I think.
It’s true that you do not see newspapers anywhere in Bruges (or anyone reading them) but the impression I got when there is that this is because it is basically a tourist city. Think of Mdina: are there any newsagents in the city? Do you see headlines anywhere?
I must confess that I have not been to the outskirts of the city. I would expect life to return to normal in places which are not touristy … much like comparing Rabat and Mdina, I suppose.
Having said all that, the majority of newspapers you see in Brussels are the free, but reasonable quality, editions distributed in train and metro stations. I wonder if they are read by the locals more or less than the immigrant population though.
[Daphne – Bruges cannot be compared to Mdina, though it is full of tourists. Many thousands of people live there: it is a functioning city with all the shops, businesses and so on that you would expect. But newsagents and newspapers are conspicuous by their absence.]
Dutch people (and that includes the Flemish) do like newspapers – just not on the weekend. The largest Dutch-language newspaper, De Telegraaf, has a circulation of 800,000, which is quite high considering that the combined population of the Netherlands and Flanders is about 23 million. They had tried launching a Sunday edition a couple of years ago, but it was a flop.
One more thing: De Telegraaf and The Mail on Sunday target exactly the same kind of readers (I would say lower-middle class). Yet the circulation of The Mail on Sunday is 2.2 million.
I always thought that the Dutch were very good at putting their lives into boxes – on weekdays we wear the newspaper-reader’s hat and on weekends we take it off to go and eat friet in cafes. Edward De Bono’s dream society – now it seems even more so.
There is a psychological answer to this. I am personally fascinated by flemish people their language and most of all their exquisite flemish art, not forgetting that our beautiful tapestries by Judecos de Vos were woven in this beautiful flemish region. We must not forget that great masters like PeterPaul Rubens came from this magical area. I understand their language because it is very close to German and I love the way they live and their lavish portions of Moulles Marnier. Brugge as they pronounce it Bruhhe , has beautiful churches, most prominent is one Church of St Saviour. There is the beautiful Marble Sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo in Our Lady Church known as
Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Bruges.
Oh pardon me I forget that the people are so tranquil with common interest at heart that politics are rarely an issue.
This very catholic region s main worry is that they are proud of their flemish language ” Flaams” and wish to have nothing to do with the walonians who speak french in the south.
Do they want Super One?
The first one who has no sins should throw the first stone.
[Daphne – That teaching of Christ is one of his most misunderstood and misinterpreted. He speaks against violent stoning and not against justice.]
So true.
Makes sense. Never thought of it that way.