Flemish Catholics upset by the convent refuge provided for the wife
of a notorious Belgian child murderer have revived interest in
"debaptism", or having their departure from the Church formally recorded
in baptismal registers.
No figures are available yet for 2012 but church officials say this
form of protest is on the rise again in reaction to the welcome the Poor
Clare sisters gave to Michelle Martin, who was granted conditional
release from prison last month after serving 16 years of her 30-year
sentence.
A website called Ontdopen.be ("debaptism.be") reported a spike in
users downloading its forms to request debaptism after Martin was
released amid repeated protests against her convent refuge.