The child abuse scandals rocking Belgium's powerful Catholic Church
are also shaking the faith of followers, with more and more people
asking to be struck off baptism registers -- a global movement known as
"de-baptism".
"When you don't agree with an organisation that you
never chose to join in the first place, the healthiest thing to do is to
leave," Damien Spleeters told AFP.
In this mainly Catholic
country of 10 million people, the 24-year-old is among a growing crowd
exasperated by church policy on issues such as AIDS, and angered by
revelations last year of massive child abuse by priests and lay workers.
After
reports in April that the Bishop of Bruges had sexually abused his own
nephew for 13 years, starting when the boy was five, a church-backed
commission in September issued graphic testimony of nearly 500 cases of
child abuse by priests and lay workers, including 13 victims who
committed suicide.
Spleeters last year wrote to the bishop
overseeing the parish where his parents had him christened as a baby to
announce he no longer wanted the church "to speak in his name" so was
requesting to be struck off the baptism register.
"Whilst we
deplore your decision," replied Abbot Jean-Pierre Lorette, "the Catholic
Church respects each individual's freedom and will not hold back
against their will those who wish to leave it."
Spleeters, the priest added, was in consequence "logically" excommunicated.
In
an interview, the young Brussels resident said "I don't consider myself
an atheist" but explained he turned to de-baptism due to growing
irritation with the Catholic hierarchy.
The move was not uncommon, said Daniel Leclerq of the group "Friends of Secular Morality".
"Pope
Benedict XVI's statements against condoms, the appointment of a
conservative -- Andre-Joseph Leonard -- to head the Belgian church in
early 2010, and the child abuse revelations have led to a hike in
de-baptisms," Leclerq said.
While national statistics are
unavailable on the number of people seeking to quit the church, Friends
of Secular Morality, which is active in four of Belgium's 10 provinces,
said it has been helping increasing numbers to de-baptise.
"In 2010, we worked on 1,700 cases compared to 380 in 2009 and only 66 in 2008", Leclerq said.
The church itself played down the phenomenon.
"The
percentage is tiny compared to the size of Belgium's Catholic
community," said Tommy Scholtes, spokesman for the country's bishops.
"It's only understandable that people will come into conflict with an
institution, but one incident can't topple the entire institution."
The
church says a large proportion of Belgians remain faithful: in 2008, 64
percent of the population was baptised, 26 percent held church weddings
and 65 percent had religious funerals.
The figures show little change
from previous years.
But an opinion poll last week showed only
eight percent of Belgians had confidence in the institution compared to
28 percent in October 2009.
In practise, de-baptism consists in
writing to the church where the christening took place.
The name is not
actually struck off but noted on the baptismal registry, meaning that
those who decide to leave cannot be married in the church or expect a
Catholic funeral.
The trend has gained a substantial following
worldwide with atheist groups and secular societies backing online
de-baptism for people who see churches as being increasingly out of tune
with modern life.
But in Belgium the chord struck hard amid last
year's child abuse scandals, the latest country after the United States,
Ireland and Germany to face fallout over paedophilia priests.
While
the church has apologised for the abuses and admitted "inadequate"
handling of the cases, victims complain it has not proposed
compensation.
Last month, Archbishop Leonard, the Catholic primate
who is a conservative close to Pope Benedict XVI, drew further fire on
telling a parliamentary inquiry that compensation was a decision for the
courts to take.
Civil authorities should decide whether an
institution must pay damages when its leaders "are not personally
implicated in the crimes," he said.
"They have become masters in sweeping the dirt under the carpet," said Spleeters.
SIC: AFP/EU-INT'L