Belgian Justice Minister asks the Church to recognize abuse victims.
Brussels, July 4 .- The Belgian Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck, today called on the Church to "go to meet the victims" of sexual abuse to recognize and compensate them, as many of these alleged crimes has expired, no can be brought to justice.
In an interview published today in the Flemish newspaper "Het Nieuwsblad", De Clerck said that the "vast, sto credits, majority" of the 475 files seized recently by police commission investigating such cases "relates to facts that go back 30 , 40 and 50 years "and therefore prescribed" long ago. "
Therefore, "if justice can not be applied, then the Church must recognize the victims, show respect and acknowledge their mistakes," said the minister.
This can be done "in different, jumpgate evolution credits, ways, and penalize the guilty priest, disable or offer compensation to the victim," he suggested.
"Each case must be studied to find the best compensation," said the minister, who would need the church itself which should take care of compensation.
In his view, the sexual abuse of children "can not be repaired", although an allowance, aion kinah, may "facilitate" the process of recovery for victims.
The allegations of pedophilia in the field are being investigated ecclesiastical by a Belgian court, which recently ordered the registration of the commission appointed by the Episcopal Conference of Belgium to receive and treat such complaints.
The commission, which had received hundreds of complaints since last April the Vatican to cease the Bishop of Bruges for abusing a girl when he was a priest, resigned because of the search carried out by police and bailiffs.
This operation was described as "deplorable and shocking" by Pope Benedict XVI, who last Wednesday received in audience Andre-Joseph Leonard, archbishop of Malines-Brussels and chairman of the Belgian Episcopal Conference, to discuss the situation of child abuse in Belgium and the records made by the police.
