Letter To The Pope 3/6

This letter is part of a series: 1/6 · 2/6 · 3/6 · 4/6 · 5/6 · 6/6

After receiving the Pope’s invitation for our group to meet again in Rome, I felt it appropriate to send another progress report. By then, our exchange had taken on the form of periodic “report cards” following our meeting in Brussels.

This letter presents the Easter evaluation, again based on the four criteria previously outlined. Despite some announced steps, I could not conclude that sufficient urgency or concrete progress had been achieved, so the score remained unchanged.

I also recalled a remark from one of the older survivors expressing the fear that justice may come too late for many, and ended with a renewed call for urgency.

All letters were delivered through diplomatic post via the Nunciature.

Read the full letter below, dated April 7th, 2025.

Your Holiness,

Thank you for your response, through the Nunciature, to my earlier letter from October & our group’s letter from January.

Your invitation for our group of abuse survivors to meet you again in Rome this September brings many joy.

When we met in September 2024, you asked about my sons. This year started strong with the birth of my second son. I wish Spring brings you strength and health for 2025 and beyond.

I came to realise that our journey together has taken on the cadence of a school year. We met in September, Christmas brought your first report card & now your Easter report is due.

As you know, the purpose of these reports is to evaluate how your Church turns your good intentions into concrete actions in these 4 matters:

• To offer better assistance for the psycho-medical treatment of victims.
• To offer better financial compensations to the victims.
• To punish both perpetrators of abuse and those who cover up.
• To offer a direct line of contact through the Nunciature if necessary.

As it stands today, I can only give you a good score on the last point. Hence your score remains: 1/4.

The Belgian Bishops’ plan is progressing slowly. A national coordinator has been appointed, but urgency and concrete action are still missing.

You met a diverse group of survivors in September, but all of us lacked one thing: youth. One of us said it best: “For many of us, reparations will come long after we’re buried." Hence I urge you to inspire urgency and action in your clergy.

Wishing you all the best, from Francis to Francis - April 7th, 2025