Pope Francis has defrocked a notorious Belgian bishop who admitted 14 years ago that he sexually abused his nephew but faced no Vatican punishment. The case of Roger Vangheluwe, the emeritus bishop of Brugge, long ago became a symbol of the Catholic Church’s hypocrisy and dysfunction in dealing with cases of abuse. Not only was he allowed to quietly retire after the scandal broke in 2010, but his superior, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, was caught on tape asking one of his victims to keep the abuse secret until the bishop left office. The announcement of his laicization Thursday comes a few months before the pope is due to visit Belgium, where the case would have been an unwelcome and problematic distraction.
