The opportunity seemed almost non-existent. Many thought it wouldn’t happen. And yet. Sometime in April 2024, news came from Rome that the pope would come to Belgium in September. The reason for his visit was the 600th (!) anniversary of the “Catholic university of Leuven,” which was founded in 1425. That Pope Francis accepted the rector’s invitation came as a surprise. This pope has hardly visited any European countries during his pontificate, so why should he do Belgium the honor?
Also, Belgium is one of the most secularized countries on the European continent, with very liberal legislation on abortion and euthanasia, and a sharp eye and criticism of the Church’s views on gender diversity and the role of women in the Church. Until Vatican II, more than 80 percent called themselves Catholic (and participated in the weekly liturgy) and the Catholic middle ground structured life [in terms of politics (which party you voted for), in terms of leisure (which adult groups and youth movements you joined), in terms of health care (which insurance you joined), in terms of education (Catholic school or not)], such influence of the Church is unthinkable today. The number of explicitly, practicing believers has declined sharply, and mostly there is a feeling that one has to justify oneself if one wants to be Catholic today. Being religious and being a Christian is still more or less understandable, but “how can one, as a right-thinking person, choose to commit oneself to the institution, and an institution at that, which propagates such an outdated vision,” is the ever underlying question. Of course and rightly so, the sexual abuse crisis has deeply affected it. In 2010, it came to light how a bishop had abused his cousin for years, the then beloved Cardinal Danneels was involved in a (what was introduced as private, but secretly recorded) conversation between victim, perpetrator and family, and his initial reaction to this (also for him surprising) news was sharply looked at with suspicion, with the main questions being what does he truly know and what does he try to cover up? Images of how the police raided the archdiocesan palace and literally threw all the files out the window for the investigation went around the world. What had “the Church,” in general, and Cardinal Danneels, and the bishops covered up? Steps were taken to bring things out into the open, to take the victims seriously, to face the evil, but not enough. In the fall of 2023, a shocking TV-documentary (‘Godvergeten’/Forgotten by God) with people’s testimonies appeared on television and it only really came to light how widespread the phenomenon was within the Flemish Church. It went through society like a shock wave. Knowing this, how can you still be Catholic? How can you, do you still want to call yourself a theologian? (You can read about how we as a faculty of theology at KU Leuven position ourselves in this, with respect to this society and the church, in our position paper)[1]. And, then, how can you, as a Catholic university, for God’s sake, invite the Pope for a visit? It was clear that public opinion was not inclined toward this papal visit and tensions immediately ran high once it was confirmed by Rome that Francis would come.
That is the area of tension Francis entered when he set foot here. Officially, his visit consisted of a speech to the country’s authorities and civil society, a meeting with the professors and students of the Catholic universities, a meeting with delegates and collaborators of the Belgian Church and a large Eucharistic celebration at the soccer stadium in Brussels. Unofficially, as we know him by now, he made a few surprise visits: he had breakfast with homeless people, an elderly home, etc. In addition, there was also a meeting behind closed doors with some victims of sexual abuse, and in the media and public opinion all eyes were on them: would they finally be heard and seen? In principle, an hour was allotted for this meeting and everyone was allowed four minutes to tell his or her story; the pope immediately indicated at the start that they should not pay attention to the time, but could say everything they wanted to say. Consequently, the conversation lasted more than twice as long as anticipated. The victims present testified of a pope who really listened, was angry and saddened by what happened (he is said to have even cried) and guaranteed them that he would see to it that the bishops took responsibility and did what was necessary to get to the bottom of this. If they failed to do so, they could always contact him themselves through his secretary, he added. Most victims felt acknowledged, seen and heard. The message was proclaimed loud and clear, as Francis also returned to it during the homily at the Eucharist. A few Church representatives had a private audience with him during the Synod, a few weeks after his visit. Here again, he asked about the follow-up on his visit in how the Church is dealing with sexual abuse. He definitely heard the cry of the victims. Although one can always find critiques, Francis dealt with this minefield well.
But what about the university? After all, that was the primary reason for his visit. First, it is worth noting that since 1968 the Catholic University of Leuven has been split into two separate universities, the Flemish KU Leuven and the French UCL (situated in Louvain-la-Neuve). In Leuven there was a speech from the rector to the Pope and from the Pope to professors. In Louvain-la-Neuve, there was a speech from students and a response from Francis. These are two universities, distinguished by not only two different languages, but also cultural differences. At the same time, they are located in that same particularly secularized country, which is very critical of anything that still smells of “Catholic”. Even internally, not everyone is Catholic or religious ‘and that is no condition for membership’ of the university as a professor or student, as our rector Luc Sels stated. This is the field of tension within which the rector finds himself when he addresses the pope. So I understand why some international media think it is strange or even unheard of for a Catholic university to address the pope in this way but some contextualization is in place here.
This criticism was based on two facts, which have to be distinguished. One is the speech of the rector of the Flemish KU Leuven who brought up the sexual abuse crisis, the Church’s views on gender and the possibility of female priests[2]. The other is the written response or communique issued by the French UC Louvain, published immediately after the pope spoke about his view on the role of women in society, a communique in which the university immediately distanced itself from the pope – which was then criticized by the pope on the plane in his conversation with journalists[3]. Moreover: don’t we have to be, as Catholics in general and as a Catholic institution in particular, critical-loyal and thus also have to raise the difficult questions?
Let me end here, however, by emphasizing a few more elements of the Pope’s address to the professors.[4] Because they may be relevant to all of us, perhaps now more than ever. The pope described the mission of a university as ‘Expand the boundaries of knowledge’ and ‘become an open space for humanity and for society’. In a culture where it is assumed that Catholicism equals closing oneself off, voluntary submission to the authority of the Church and accepting that academic freedom is curtailed, this is a crucial message. The pope relates it to the boundary we tend to set ourselves as our culture gives up on seeking the truth and relativizes everything, leading to “intellectual weariness,” and constant uncertainty. It leads us to give up seeking the truth, and to resist asking the (difficult) questions. “There is likewise the danger of being attracted to an easy, effortless and comfortable ‘faith’ that does not call anything into question,” he added. On the other hand, a merely “rationalist approach” is also limited as the pope points out. It considers “as true only those things that can be measured, tested by experiment and touched, as if life were uniquely restricted to what is material and visible”. It might lead to “soulless rationalism”, which loses “wonder”, “the beginning of thought”. Rather than being “sectarian”, we should be “‘leaven’ within our world, contributing to the common good of humanity”.
And he ended with a passionate call to all of us:
A theologian from your land, a student and professor of this University stated that, “We are the burning bush that allows God to manifest himself” (A. GESCHÉ, Dio per pensare. Il Cristo, Cinisello Balsamo 2003, 276). Keep this flame alive; expand boundaries! Please be uneasy with the restlessness of life, and be restless seekers of truth, and do not allow your enthusiasm to wane lest you yield to intellectual lethargy, which is a very bad illness. Be protagonists in generating a culture of inclusion, compassion, and attentiveness towards the weakest as you seek to overcome the great challenges in our world today.
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[1] See KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, ‘The papal visit and KU Leuven’s theological faculty’, September 20, 2024 https://theo.kuleuven.be/en/papal-visit
[2] KU Leuven, ‘Speech for the Pope’s visit to KU Leuven by rector Luc Sels’, 27 September, 2024 https://www.kuleuven.be/english/visit-pope-francis/speech-for-the-popes-visit-to-ku-leuven-by-rector-luc-sels
[3] UCLouvain, ‘Réaction au discours du Pape: des convergences de fond, mais une divergence majeure’, Communiqué de presse, 28 September, 2024 :https://uclouvain.be/fr/decouvrir/presse/actualites/reaction-au-discours-du-pape-des-convergences-de-fond-mais-une-divergence-majeure.html; Catholic News Agency, ‘Pope Francis responds to critics of comments he made in Belgium about women’, 29 September, 2024 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259537/pope-francis-responds-to-critics-of-comments-he-made-in-belgium-about-women
[4] Pope Francis, Address of His Holiness for the Meeting with University Professors’ 27 September, 2024: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/september/documents/20240927-belgio-docenti-universitari.html