Vangheluwe again in the crosshairs
Operation Chalice house searches continue

By Yves Delepeleire and Mark Eeckhaut
De Standaard
January 18, 2012

http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=5I3L10LG

[Translated from the original in De Standaard.]

Brussels - The court took from the diocese of Bruges the case files of at least two clergy who perhaps enjoyed Vangheluwe's protection.

The federal prosecutor Johan Delmulle and Brussels examining magistrate Wim De Troy conducted more searches yesterday as part of Operation Chalice. In the dioceses of Ghent and Bruges, eleven clergy case files were obtained. In the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity, six or seven records were seized also.

[Wim De Troy] Imagedesk / Lieven Van Assche

On Monday, the detectives were at the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels and the bishoprics of Antwerp and Hasselt. They took a total of about twenty-four case files of clergy who [are alleged to have] abused children.

They'd already made it to the Order of [Priests of] the Sacred Heart [SCJ], in Ixelles, some time before.

The detectives are not focusing on the clergy abuse itself, but hope to find files or information that show that the church hierarchy have covered-up their crimes by secretly moving them to another location and by not reporting the abuse to the court.

Which church leaders are targetted by the recent actions is not clear. It would be difficult to charge cardinal Godfried Danneels with something. He should not have to worry. (DS Jan. 17) But for former Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, this is certainly not the case.

Yesterday in the diocese of Bruges, the detectives took at least two case files of clergy whom they suspect Vangheluwe took under his protection. The editors have learned this from relevant sources.

One of the files is about deacon Marc V., who would abuse Rudi V. three times during the 1980s. The offender appeared in court and made confessions, but the sentence was suspended and no restriction of contact with minors was imposed. The victim ended up in psychiatric treatment and eventually committed suicide.

When Rudi's family learned a few years later that Marc V. was to be appointed a deacon, they begged Bishop Roger Vangheluwe not to do so. But he minimized the matter and said that it was time to forgive everything. Vangheluwe assigned Marc V. as a deacon in Vlamertinge. There he remained until 2010, when the family appealed to the Adriaenssens commission, and the deacon himself resigned.

Threatening Phone Call

A second case is about Philippe B., priest and school director in Saint-Denis-Helkin and now deceased. He abused Krista V. from age sixteen to twenty-four. When the whistleblower priest Rik Devillé appeared on TV in the 1990s, Krista told him her story.

Together they went on June 9, 1998 to Roger Vangheluwe. He promised to see what he could do. Three times the woman called him back, but he never answered. But Vangheluwe did send her occasional postcards, sometimes adding some money and he also made a payment into her account.

"I have never asked for money. For me that was hush money, "says Krista V. "The last time I called Vangheluwe was in September 2010. He already had to resign and was in the abbey of Westvleteren. He called me names and said he would hunt me down."

Krista V. is now represented by attorney Walter Van Steenbrugge, who defends dozens of victims. For these victims, he filed a civil suit with examining magistrate De Troy. It is partly based on those accounts that De Troy is now taking further action.

Since the Prosecutor of Bruges has had to stop the investigation into the abuse by Vangheluwe because the facts are barred, the Brussels court is making every effort to at least charge Vangheluwe with guilty negligence, so that he does not have a lucky escape.

As recently as late 2010 and early 2011, he was questioned about this in Brussels. Vangheluwe is abroad, but should in principle remain available for questioning. Moreover, De Troy in April last year also seized the tapes from the interview the TV channel VT4 had with him.
In that interview, Vangheluwe had said that he had not treated pedophile priests more mildly than other bishops had done. This raised questions with the detectives.

It's highly unsure whether De Troy will find in the files of the diocese of Bruges anything to charge Vangheluwe with. Even if that is the case, the question remains whether possible guilty negligence is not barred. But if it is stated that Vangheluwe is still under suspicion, that would be an important outcome of the investigation.

The searches yesterday and the day before have not completed what the the federal prosecutor and the investigating magistrate in Brussels are planning for this round.

Some Walloon dioceses and congregations should expect a visit today.