Roger Vangheluwe

Roger Vangheluwe
Bishop Emeritus of Bruges
Church	Roman Catholic
See	Brugges
Installed	3 February 1985
Term ended	23 April 2010
Predecessor	Emiel-Jozef De Smedt
Successor	sede vacante
Orders
Consecration	3 February 1985
Personal details
Born	(1936-11-07) 7 November 1936 Roeselare
Nationality	Belgian

Roger Joseph Vangheluwe (born 7 November 1936) is the former bishop of Bruges.

Life

Vangheluwe was born at Roeselare and studied Christian Theology and Mathematics. He received holy orders in February 1963. From 1968 to 1984 he was professor at the Seminary of Bruges. He was appointed as bishop of Bruges on 15 December 1984 by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated on 3 February 1985 by Godfried Cardinal Danneels.

Resignation following pedophilia scandal

Resignation

On 23 April 2010 Pope Benedict XVI accepted the bishop's resignation after the Belgian admitted he had repeatedly abused his teenage nephew in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he was a still a priest. This was known to the boy's family soon after, but the victim was allegedly put under pressure to keep silent in order to safeguard his uncle's career. The abuse continued after Vangheluwe was made a bishop. He is the first episcopal resignation in Belgium relating to sexual abuse of minors .

His resignation was announced at a press conference by Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard. Leonard said that Vangheluwe's resignation shows the Catholic Church in Belgium wants to "turn over a leaf from a not very distant past."

Pre-scandal public statements on pedophilia

When asked during a university lecture on April 19, 2010 how pedophilia should best be discussed in class, the former bishop replied :"I think you need to be well informed about these things. In a way, it's not a tougher subject than many others. Yes, it's embarrasing, it's scandalous. But then again, so are many other things [...] Also, there have been some articles that imply that pedophilia is nowhere so little prevalent as in the Church [...]".

As late as April 21, 2010 the former bishop had written a column in the Flemish episcopal monthly Kerk and Leven (Church and Life), saying that "at present we suffer from the scandals that batter the Church: everywhere there are stories of priests abusing children. It's horrible to see these things surface, and they hurt us deeply. Nevertheless, this shouldn't blind us from the fact that the majority of priests lead exemplary lives and represent a support to many. (...) They aspire to imitate Jesus."

Refuge

The former bishop per April 26, 2010 had taken refuge in Westvleteren Abbey.