Belgium’s abuse legacy casts shadow on pope’s trip as survivors demand reparations.

VATICAN CITY – Fresh off a four-nation tour of Asia, where he saw record-setting crowds and vibrant church communities, Pope Francis travels to Belgium this week as the once-staunchly Catholic country again confronts its appalling legacy of clergy sex abuse and institutional cover-up.

He will receive a sobering welcome: Abuse survivors have penned an open letter to Francis, asking him to launch a universal system of church reparations and assume responsibility for the wreckage that abuse has wrought on their lives.

The open letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, will be hand delivered to Francis when he meets with 15 survivors during his four-day visit starting Thursday, according to the Rev. Rik Deville, who has been advocating on behalf of abuse survivors for over a quarter-century.

Another unpleasant welcome has come from Belgium’s parliament, which spent the past year hearing victims recount harrowing stories of predator priests and this week announced a follow-on investigation. The scope? How Belgian judicial and law enforcement authorities bungled a massive 2010 criminal investigation into the church’s sex crimes.

All of which has left a rather bitter taste among the Belgian public ahead of Francis’ visit, not least because Francis remained tight with Danneels even after his cover-up was exposed, and again showed ignorance of Belgium’s problem when he named the retired bishop of Ghent a cardinal in 2022. The bishop declined the honor because of his poor record dealing with abuse.

The visit has also in some cases retraumatized victims, some of whom had sought to meet with the pope only to be told by church authorities they didn’t make the cut, said Schildermans.