Pope gives farewell mass in stadium before departing Belgium

Pope Francis demanded on Sunday that sexually abusive clergy be judged, and their bishops stop covering up their crimes as he ended a troubled visit to Belgium. 

“Evil must not be hidden. Evil must be brought out into the open,” he told the crowd of around 39,000 in Belgium’s King Baudouin Stadium, 

During his homily, he also spoke about the importance of mercy for those who have made mistakes and for compassion for those suffering, 

Despite the adoring crowd present at the mass, the pontiff’s visit to Belgium has been dominated by the legacy of child sexual abuse both within the country and across the world. 

He was called upon by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, by the King of Belgium, and by survivors themselves, to compensate those who have suffered. 

The main reason for the trip was to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Leuven/Louvain Catholic University, the oldest Catholic university in the world and long the Vatican’s academic fiefdom in Belgium.

Belgium has had a legacy of abuse and cover-up within the Catholic church, including the case of Bruges bishop Roger Vangheluwe. 

He was allowed to quietly retire in 2010 after admitting that he sexually abused his nephew for 13 years.  

Pope Francis only defrocked him this year in a move seen as finally dealing with a longstanding abuse before his arrival in Belgium. 

It’s unclear if Francis or his entourage expected such sharp public expressions of outrage or the pointed calls for gender reform from Belgium’s intellectual elite.

He has ruled out ordaining women as priests and has refused so far to budge on demands to allow women to serve as deacons, who perform many of the same tasks as priests.

He has now taken the women’s issue off the table for debate at the Vatican’s upcoming three-week synod because it’s too thorny to be dealt with in such a short time.