"Come down hard on abuse by priests"

The Bishop of Ghent added that he has been is “deeply moved” by the child sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in Belgium.

Bishop Van Looy believes that the Church should report any suspicions of sexual abuse by members of the clergy to the judicial authorities.

He also believes that the Church should make more effective use of canon law to punish priests that have abused minors.

Bishop Van Looy took the opportunity to offer his sincere apologies to the victims of abuse by priests.

“As a human being, as a believer, as a priest and as a bishop, I am deeply ashamed.”

“This is about the inhumane suffering of the victims of criminal sexual abuse.”

“The victims’ self-confidence and their trust in others has been taken away at a young age”, Bishop Van Looy told the Commission.