Belgian bishop declines cardinal honour over abuse record

One of Pope Francis' proposed new cardinals, the retired bishop of Ghent, Belgium, has bowed out of accepting the honour over his insufficient response to cases of clergy sexual abuse, the Belgian bishops conference said.

Ghent Bishop Luc Van Looy had asked Francis for permission to decline the honour in order "to not harm victims again", and Francis accepted the request, the bishops said in a statement.

Francis had named Van Looy as one of 21 prelates to become a new "prince of the church" during a consistory August 27.

At 80, Van Looy is too old to participate in a future conclave to decide on the next pope, but he was one of five men named as cardinals in recognition of their lifetime of service to the church.

Van Looy, a priest of the Salesian religious order, had been bishop of the northwest Belgian diocese from 2004-2020.

The Belgian bishops conference said the announcement that he would be made a cardinal had "generated a lot of positive reaction but also criticism of the fact that he didn't always react with sufficient energy as bishop of Ghent against abuse in his pastoral work".

The conference said it appreciated Van Looy's decision to decline the honour and reiterated its commitment to fighting abuse in the church and placing the interests of victims first.

The Belgian Catholic Church has had a wretched record with abuse and cover-up: In 2010 the Belgian church acknowledged more than 500 cases of abuse dating from the 1950s after it commissioned a report that found at least 13 victims committed suicide.

That same year, police raided church offices and the archbishop of Bruges resigned after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew for years while a priest and bishop.

The Bruges scandal also tarnished the then-head of the Belgian church, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who was recorded urging the bishop's' victim to stay quiet.

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