More than 500 Belgian Catholics threaten to apostatize in protest after the Pope’s statements on abortion

A total of 524 Belgian Catholics They have requested apostasy in protest against some statements made by the Pope about abortion and the role of women during his trip to the country at the end of September.

According to the Belgian Catholic media ‘Katholisch’, the religious in an open letter addressed to the apostolic nuncio, the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Luc Terlinden, have assured that their decision is motivated by the statements by the Pope who praised the gesture of King Baudouin when he abdicated to not sign the abortion law.

In this sense, the Belgian Head of State has defined himself as a brave monarch who has momentarily abandoned his position “in order not to sign a murderous law.” On the flight back to Rome, asked about this question, Francis defined the doctors who carry out this practice as “hitmen”.

The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, has expressed that the Pope’s considerations on abortion are “unacceptable” and has even expressed its intention to summon the nuncio to discuss the matter.

The signatories have also denounced the management of abuse cases in the Belgian Church and what they consider insufficient support and compensation for those affected by abuse.

Furthermore, they have cited, as another reason for apostasy, the Pope’s considerations on the role of women in society and in the Church in the meeting he held with the educational community of the French-speaking headquarters of the University of Leuven.

“It is ugly when the woman wants to be the man, the woman is a woman,” said the Pope. In a statement, a part of the university community described these words as typical of “a deterministic and reductionist vision.”