The Bishop of Ghent, Msgr. Lode Van Hecke, has preventively suspended the parish priest of Brakel/Lierde, following a complaint lodged with an interdiocesan centre set up to receive reports of sexual abuse.
This was disclosed by the Bishop’s spokesman, Peter Malfliet.
A final decision will have to be taken by the competent ecclesiastical authorities in Rome.
The victim, who was an adult at the time of the events but qualifies as a vulnerable person, “does not wish to lodge a complaint with the courts and wishes to remain anonymous,” the diocese said in a statement.
“The priest confessed to the acts during talks with representatives of the inter-diocesan centre and with the bishop,” it added. “The bishop has issued a decree with measures for the immediate suspension of the priest.”
According to the spokesperson, the fact that the victim explicitly does not want to go to court does not detract from the fact that an ecclesiastical procedure has been initiated.
Under current measures, abuses committed against a vulnerable adult must be treated in the same way as those committed against a minor.
The case has been referred to the competent ecclesiastical authorities in Rome, who will rule within a timeframe that is, however, difficult to assess, according to the spokesman.
The priest will remain suspended at least until then.
