ROME — Belgian bishops say tough U.S. norms about dealing with clerical sex abuse that have been hailed as a model by the Vatican aren't appropriate for Belgium.
Brussels Archbishop Andre Leonard said the context in which the U.S. norms were created — amid a major scandal in 2002 — required a much tougher response. But he said the Belgian church nevertheless was taking a firm stance against pedophile priests, albeit a more measured one than in the U.S.
Leonard spoke to reporters Friday after a week of previously scheduled meetings with Vatican officials that followed the April announcement that the country’s longest-serving bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, had resigned after admitting he sexually abused a boy.
The pope addresses the Belgian bishops Saturday.
