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Pope Francis sent a message against border strengthening from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. “We need a culture that expands the borders” the Pontiff said after showing testimonies and stories of refugees.

“We saw earlier, in the video, a very moving testimony. And while some call for the strengthening of borders, you, as a university community, have widened the borders, opened your arms to welcome these people who are stigmatized by pain, to help them study and grow,” he said.

“We need this: a culture that expands borders, which is not ‘sectarian’ and does not claim to be above others, but which, instead, is involved in the leavening of the world by bringing in ‘good leaven’ that contributes to the good of humanity . This task, this “greatest hope”, has been entrusted to you,” added the Pope.

The visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium, however, brought to the surface again, in addition to the issue of sexual abuse in the church, the case of “forced adoptions” with the “complicity” of monks, which were carried out mainly in the decades from 1950 to 1970 .

The outgoing Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexandre de Croix, was harsh, speaking both about the “forced adoptions” and about those who were victims of sexual abuse in the bosom of the church.

“It’s a shame for the church”

“When something goes wrong, we can’t accept that we cover it up. This hurts everyone’s valuable work. Today, words are no longer enough. Specific measures are needed. The victims must be the focus. They have the right to the truth, the atrocities must be recognized,” underlined Alexander De Croo, adding that “it is not only a moral obligation, but also a necessary step to regain trust. Human dignity must prevail over the interests of the institution.” “In order to be able to look to the future again, the church must come to terms with its past,” he pointed out.

“It is a shame for the church,” said Pope Francis. Going out of text, he noted: “It’s a shame. Shame. Today, in the church itself, this crime is happening, the church should be ashamed and ask

sorry” said the Pontiff from Belgium where he is visiting. He also deplored the “forced adoptions” of children in Belgium who were taken away from their mothers between the 1950s and 1970s with nuns having been involved. As he said, “in these harrowing stories, the bitter fruit of a crime was mixed with what was unfortunately the result of a widespread mentality in all strata of society.”

According to a report by the Flemish-language newspaper, Het Laatste in 2023, nuns are involved in over 30,000 “forced adoption” cases.

Liv Sons, born in 1974 in Dunkirk, who was adopted by a Belgian couple, speaks to the French news agency. She discovered that her biological mother, who was only 16 years old when she gave birth to her, lives in Flanders like her but through her lawyer she refused to meet her. Even so, she tries to understand how her mother had ended up at Dunkirk and the nuns took her back to Belgium when she was born.

During his visit to Belgium, Pope Francis will have a meeting with 15 citizens who were sexually abused within the church environment.