Pope Francis said on Saturday (September 28, 2024) the Catholic Church must learn from victims of child sexual abuse, as he was pressed on the issue on the second day of his Belgium visit partially overshadowed by past scandals.

Replying at a meeting in Brussels to a scripted question by a representative of an organisation helping abuse victims, the pontiff acknowledged the “atrocious suffering and wounds” caused by the Church.

“There is a need for a great deal of mercy to keep us from hardening our hearts before the suffering of victims, so that we can help them feel our closeness,” Francis said at the meeting with clergy and pastoral workers, a day after meeting with a group of Belgian abuse victims.

“We must learn from them, as you said, to be a Church at the service of all without belittling anyone,” the 87-year-old pope told the gathering at the vast Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, one of the largest churches in the world.

“Indeed, one of the roots of violence stems from the abuse of power when we use the positions we have to crush or manipulate others.”

His words came in response to Mia De Schamphelaere, a Belgian politician and the coordinator of a Flemish centre for abuse victims, who asked how the Church could learn from its mistakes and create a safe environment for everyone.

Decades of scandals and cover-ups have loomed large over the pope’s visit to Belgium, where a hard-hitting documentary last year put the issue back on front pages, prompting new victims to come forward.

On Friday evening, 17 clerical sexual assault victims shared their stories and expressed their expectations to the pope, who “took note” of their requests, according to the Vatican.

In an open letter this month, some victims had demanded the pontiff address paedophilia and set up a process for financial reparations.

Beginning his visit on Friday, Francis said the Church had to “seek forgiveness”, calling child sexual abuse “our shame and our humiliation,” after being questioned on the issue by King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

In a more jovial atmosphere on Saturday, Francis blessed children after his remarks, taking selfies and shaking hands with a crowd of faithful that greeted him at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Early in the morning, the Argentinian Jesuit went to another church in the city to share breakfast with homeless people and migrants.

He was later due to hold discussions with students at Louvain-la-Neuve in French-speaking Wallonia, notably on climate issues, before concluding his visit on Sunday with an open-air mass.

Pope Francis attends a press conference on board an airplane on his flight back from Marseille to Rome on September 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pope Francis has labelled the weapons industry as being a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in Russia’s war, saying even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery.

Francis appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it is no longer sending arms to Ukraine when he was asked about the war during brief remarks to reporters while returning home from Marseille, France.

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Francis acknowledged he was frustrated that the Vatican’s diplomatic initiatives hadn’t borne much fruit. But he said behind the Russia-Ukraine conflict was also the weapons industry.

He described the paradox that was keeping Ukraine a “martyred people” — that at first many countries gave Ukraine weapons and now are taking them away. Francis has long denounced the weapons industry as “merchants of death,” but he has also asserted the right of countries to defend themselves.

“I’ve seen now that some countries are pulling back, and aren’t giving weapons,” he said.

“This will start a process where the martyrdom is the Ukrainian people, certainly. And this is bad.” It was an apparent reference to the announcement by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck that Poland was no longer sending arms to Ukraine as part of a trade dispute.

“We cannot play with the martyrdom of the Ukrainian people,” Francis said. “We have to help resolve things in ways that are possible.” “Not to make illusions that tomorrow the two leaders will go out together to eat, but to do whatever is possible,” he said.

In other comments, Francis spoke about his two-day visit to Marseille, where he exhorted Europe to be more welcoming to migrants.

Francis said he was heartened that there is greater consciousness about the plight of migrants 10 years after he made his first trip as pope to the Italian island of Lampedusa, ground zero in Europe’s migrant debate. But he said the “reign of terror” they endure at the hands of smugglers hasn’t gotten any better.

Francis recalled that when he became pope, “I didn’t even know where Lampedusa was.” The Sicilian island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, is the destination of choice for migrant smugglers and has seen frequent shipwrecks off its shores. Last week, the island was overwhelmed when nearly 7,000 migrants arrived in one day, more than the resident population.

Francis, who was elected pope in 2013, said he had heard some stories about the problems on Lampedusa in his first months as pope “and in prayer I heard You need to go there”.

The visit has come to epitomize the importance of the migrant issue for Francis, who has gone on to make some memorable gestures of solidarity, including in 2016 when he brought back a dozen Syrian Muslim migrants on his plane after visiting a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece.