Thirty records were seized in searches
of dioceses and the Brothers of Charity

De Standaard
January 17, 2012

http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20120117_028

[Translated from the original in De Standaard.]

Bruges/Ghent -- Thirty records were seized when searches were conducted in the Dioceses of Bruges and Ghent and at the Brothers of Charity in Ghent. Like the searches Monday, says a spokesperson for the federal prosecutor, personnel files were seized of priests named in cases of sexual abuse of minors.

The examining magistrate in Brussels, Wim De Troy, had carried out several searches on Monday in the Dioceses of Hasselt and Antwerp and in the Archdiocese of Malines.

On Tuesday morning, a search commenced in the Diocese of Bruges, and around 11 a.m. the detectives stepped up to the Bishop's Palace in Ghent.

[Lieve Pellens, federal magistrate and spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's office]

In Bruges, they took eleven case files, including those for a number of deceased priests. The court's focus is mainly to find out what the church knew about the sexual abuse. "We have cooperated fully with the investigation," said spokesman Peter Rossel of the Diocese of Bruges.

In Ghent, thirteen clergy case files were seized, according to Koen Vlaeminck, spokesman for the Diocese of Ghent, some for deceased priests and some for priests who are still living. The files were freely provided, said Vlaeminck.

Detectives also went in the afternoon to the Brothers of Charity on Stropstraat. The detectives copied congregation files for six former members, said Lieven Claeys, spokesman for the Brothers of Charity.

On the whole, more than 30 files were seized Tuesday on behalf of examining magistrate Wim De Troy.

De Troy is conducting a judicial inquiry regarding the guilty omission relating to sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church. As part of that investigation, the federal prosecutor identified 155 acts of sexual abuse. In addition, another 87 civil complaints have been made, and based on those complaints, 45 additional acts of sexual abuse have been identified.

It is likely that further searches will be conducted in the future.