Earlier this year, the resignation of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges, Belgium, was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI after the bishop admitted that he had sexually abused his own nephew from the age of 5 to the age of 18.
Yesterday, Channel 4 News out of the United Kingdom reported that the victim, now 42, secretly taped a conversation in April between himself and Godfried Cardinal Danneels, "urging the victim not to go public" until Bishop Vangheluwe resigned upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.
As damning as the tape is, it isn't evidence of a "cover-up," as the story claims. Cardinal Danneels made a grave error in judgment—a fact acknowledged by a spokesman for the cardinal's successor—but he had no authority to prevent the victim from going public. In fact, Cardinal Danneels had no authority whatsoever over the Church in Belgium at the time of the conversation, a fact that the victim must have known: The cardinal had retired on January 18, 2010, three months before.
That is why, despite Cardinal Danneel's meddling, the right result was reached. Bishop Vangheluwe resigned in disgrace, admitting his sin; and Pope Benedict accepted his resignation. But the action of the cardinal, rather than helping to bring about the right result, and thus bring an end to the scandal, has instead worsened it.
When on When will these guys realize that the Church doesn’t need theire protection. God, can and will take care of the situtation, if they allow him to!
They I believe are covering their past sins and power, not The Holy Roman Catholic Church.
to say that danneels was not trying to cover up his bishop’s crimes is ludicrous.
he basically asked the victim to hold off making any public statements till vangheluwe retired with all the pomp and dignity that would have been given to him as a bishop. it seems that persuading the victim to keep quiet would have given church officials time to come up with some sort of plan to eventually keep the story from ever coming out.
It is true that the Cardinal has also proposed forgiveness as a part of a conceivable solution. One could consider this a hopelessly naïve or an outdated pastoral remedy. This is not so. Forgiveness indeed is the Catholic and moreover correct answer towards a repenting sinner. An abuse victim who is able to forgive – after penance and repair by the offender of whatever that still can be repaired – is a happier individual in comparison to a victim who merely scored in court or who only received financial compensation. Forgiveness and reconciliation are there not only for those who receive forgiveness but also for those who grant forgiveness. The solutions proposed by the Cardinal are potentially substantially more effective than their alternatives – that is, if such alternatives existed, which is not the case since it is not the role of a mediator in a confidential discussion to inform or alert any third party and since anyhow, no legal recourse or remedies were still available, neither from a canon law nor from a civil law perspective.
Am very pertubed by this media misrepresentation. Why only catholics on limelight? We have so many protestant Bishops who have committed sexual sin and yet they are never mentioned, some have even married many wives n that is not news. Anyway am proud to be a Catholicans coz it seems Catholic church is held in high esteem all over the world,that is why everything they do hardly go unnoticed however the small it is.
Thank you, Simon. Sexual offences are being committed everywhere on a larger, horrifying scale than the small percentage in the Catholic Church. Yet the media ignores to give even scant mention of them. Over and above the Protestant Church, we have sexual offences being commited in homes where fathers, brothers, uncles and other relatives have abused their children, sisters, nieces and close relatives and this is happen at an alarming rate. My conclusion? Satan is only interested in fighting and scandalizing the Church of Christ. To me these misrepresentations and abuses heaped on my Holy Catholic Church, instead of making me and thousands of other like me worried, is strengthening our Faith and Fidelity of our Mother Church.
Christ foretold all these persecutions and when His words are confirmed by these so-called scandals we move even more closer to Him and our Total Trust to Him is reinforced.
simon, why should you be so worried about what noncatholic christians are doing? your implication would be along the lines of “look at them, they are worse than we are!”
worry about the needle in your own church’s eye, than the log in someone else’s church.
and as for this whole brouhaha about danneels being misrepresented, his attorney isn’t doing a good enough pr case. you have to consider that no one has actually denied that he said any of those things to the abuse victim.
here’s a counterpoint: http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/15215