Pope has “painful” but “calming” dialog with abuse victims

The atmosphere was intense, but the Pope was attentive. He also administered the sacrament of the sick to one of the members of the group, who is suffering from terminal cancer.

The day after this unprecedented and prolonged meeting, Lieve Brouwers, from Flanders, didn’t hide her emotion. She is one of the most committed members of this group of Belgian victims. In her words, “It went very well. A gift!”

Pope Francis had met with representatives of this same group of victims of abuse at the Apostolic Nunciature in Brussels in September 2024. The Argentine pontiff had expressed his willingness at the time to continue the dialogue in Rome a year later. Now, his predecessor has finally been able to honor this commitment.

“The Pope was very open. He was waiting for us at the door and he began by greeting us, asking each of the 15 members of the group their names. He was interested in each person's family and history,” she said.

The victims were accompanied by the rector of the Belgian Pontifical College, Father Geert Morlion, who acted as interpreter; by Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; and by an assistant.

In addition to time devoted to the presentation of three topics chosen by the members of the group — spiritual life, compensation, and safeguarding — the Pope engaged in an hour and a half of informal dialogue.

"He gave us time to ask all our questions, including some very difficult ones, because our group was made up of believers and non-believers, some of whom are still in conflict with the Church. He asked us to express our emotions, accepting even expressions of anger. He took it all in and said he would speak to the bishops to convey what we feel," said Lieve Brouwers.

“For my part, I am open to what the Church can do. We know that it takes time. The Pope isn’t alone in making decisions. There’s a commission that’s working on this, and we also met with them,” she explains.

To the great dismay of the victims, a meeting scheduled at the dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith was canceled. However, the group was received by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Its president, Archbishop Thibault Verny, made himself available for a long discussion with the group, in an atmosphere that was at times trying and tense, but with the promise of continuing regular contact.

This trip to Rome was therefore an opportunity for the group to deepen an institutional dialogue. It had previously gotten off to a difficult start, with some members expressing their anger at the lack of responsiveness from the Belgian episcopate and the Vatican to their requests for meetings.

“The Pope insisted that we must work together — not only with him, but with all the bishops and with all the victims. He sat in a circle to talk with us. He was very open; he spoke with empathy,” reflected Liewe Brouwers.

“Leo XIV also expressed a request for forgiveness on several occasions, explaining that he had already worked with abused people in Peru and Rome and that he understood their anger,” says the Flemish victim. However, she acknowledges that some members of the group remained skeptical after the meeting. This prevented them from drafting the joint statement that had been planned to summarize the meeting.

“There is a rift, a division in the group between those who believe and those who no longer believe,” acknowledges Jean-Luc Laluyé, who came from Beauraing, in Wallonia, a town famous for the Marian apparitions that occurred in 1932 and 1933.

Jean-Luc Laluyé was abused by a deacon who happened to be the son of one of the Beauraing visionaries. He has nevertheless not lost his faith and remains attached to the Marian piety that permeates the life of his community. “I had moments of doubt and anger, but I was also helped by priests, and I remained in the Church,” he explains.

“I make a distinction between the personal history of my abuser and this experience of the apparitions,” he says.

He came from Belgium with a statue of Our Lady of Beauraing entrusted to him by the rector of the shrine, which he was able to give directly to the Pope during this dialogue, which he greatly appreciated.

“The first word that comes to mind is ‘calming,’” says Jean-Luc Laluyé. “It was very calming. He was very attentive, and we felt that he would take action,” he explains. He doesn’t share the hard line of some other members of the group. “Things are moving too slowly, it's true, but the dialogue with the Church in Belgium is open and progressing step by step,” he says.

More than a year after his meeting with Pope Francis in Brussels, Jean-Luc Laluyé made the trip to Rome with some reservations. “At first, Pope Francis gave me the impression of being a ‘good dad,’ and the new pope seemed less charismatic to me, so I was less enthusiastic. But I came away from the meeting feeling calm and moved, especially when he administered the sacrament of the sick to one of the members of our group who is terminally ill with cancer,” he says, still moved by this unexpected ritual in such a context.

“This member of the group had asked the pope, without our knowledge, if he could receive this sacrament. The pope did so, and he invited those who wished to pray with him. It was a very powerful moment,” he says.

Another highlight on Sunday morning was when 12 members of the delegation were able to attend Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. “We were seated in the front row. This shows the Pope's sincere interest in us as victims,” says Jean-Luc Laluyé.

This meeting with the Pope encourages him to persevere on this path of reconciliation with the Church. “I hope that we will continue to work with the Church in Belgium and that things will move forward,” he says. He leaves heartened by this effort to listen, which will now allow victims to feel the support of Rome.