On October 3, 2024, before Parliament, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described as “unacceptable” the remarks made by Pope Francis on abortion during his visit to Belgium (September 26-29). With his statements provoking heated controversy — and some unease within the Belgian episcopate — the Prime Minister has invited the Apostolic Nuncio (the pope's representative in a country) for an explanation.
“The Pope has made certain statements that are not acceptable,” lamented the Belgian Prime Minister, according to the Cathobel website, which reports on the heated exchanges in the Chamber concerning the Pope's visit to Belgium.
During his visit to Brussels, Pope Francis paid tribute to King Baudouin in the royal crypt of the Notre-Dame de Laeken church on Saturday morning. He praised the sovereign who chose in 1990 “to leave his post as king in order not to sign a murderous law.”
The following day, at a Mass celebrated in front of some 40,000 faithful, he announced that upon returning to Rome, he would launch the cause for the beatification of the deceased king. And on the plane back to Rome, Pope Francis insisted that “abortion is homicide” and described doctors who perform abortions as “hired killers.” The Pope has consistently been quite plain in his condemnation of abortion; in addition to the "hitman" description, he's also said, for example, that abortion is "like the Spartans, but with 'more science.'"
“No lessons to be learned”
These remarks generated anger among some MPs (members of parliament), reports Cathobel. For example, Ecolo party MP Sara Schiltz commented that “he decides to interfere in a national debate that is the subject of intense discussions in the Federal Parliament,” referring to ongoing discussions to extend the legal limit for abortion to 18 weeks.
Socialist MP Caroline Désir asked the Prime Minister whether he had summoned the Apostolic Nuncio to denounce the remarks made by the head of the Catholic Church, arguing that the Pope had “instrumentalized his visit to pour out his most retrograde and patriarchal positions regarding women.”
In addition to his specific comments on abortion, the Pope's visit was also marked by his meeting at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he was challenged on the role and place of women in the Church and society. Disappointed by the Pontiff's response, the UCLouvain expressed in a press release its “incomprehension and disapproval” of the Pope's “deterministic and reductive” position.
In his reply to Parliament, the Prime Minister explained that he had invited the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Franco Coppola. “We have no lessons to learn about the way our parliamentarians democratically pass laws,” he argued, adding that “the time when the Church dictated the law in our country is, fortunately, long behind us.”
He then demanded respect for doctors “who do their work within a legal framework” and for women “who must be able to freely dispose of their bodies, and do so without interference from the Church!”
Anger from doctors, not just in Belgium
In Belgium, several doctors have condemned the words of the head of the Catholic Church. The rector of VUB University and UZ University Hospital in Brussels called them an insult to Belgian medical staff and citizens. Jan Danckaert also denounced the fact that a foreign head of state should arrogate to himself the right to attack a law in another country. He called on the federal government to hold the Pope's ambassador to Belgium to account.
The Pope's words on abortion have provoked reactions beyond Belgium. In Italy, for example, the Turin Medical Association has written to the Italian Ministers of Health and Foreign Affairs asking for a reaction. For the Association, the expression “hired killers” used to describe doctors performing abortions is a “mark of infamy on the medical profession.”
Belgian Bishops uncomfortable too
Within the Belgian episcopate, too, the Pope's words did not meet with unanimous approval. On the website of the Diocese of Namur, you can read Bishop Warin's reaction to the Pope's speech on the place of women and abortion. “He has stirred up controversy. We have to accept our society as it is. Christian witness needs to be more humble. I'm sure the Pope doesn't write all his speeches, but you have to take into account the context of the country you're in.”
“The bishops have never asked for the beatification of King Baudouin,” said Bishop Guy Harpigny of the Diocese of Tournai, on Notélé Belgique. While he agreed with the substance of the pontiff's remarks on abortion, he nevertheless felt that “calling doctors and gynecologists ‘hired killers’ is a bit strong.”
He also returned the Pope's remarks to a moral level. “He has no business making remarks about what happens in Belgium at parliamentary level. That's not for him.”
Last Sunday, in front of 40,000 faithful, the head of the Catholic Church expressly asked the bishops to get involved in the cause for the beatification of their former monarch. “We will obey, of course; we are bishops,” said Bishop Guy Harpigny.
