From the Telegraph:
Roger Vangheluwe, 74, the former bishop of Bruges, said the abuse he committed was only "superficial".
"I don't have the impression at all that I am a paedophile. It was really just a small relationship. I did not have the feeling that my nephew was against it, quite the contrary," he said.
....
Vangheluwe admitted abusing one of his nephews over a 13-year period, until the boy was 18, and a second nephew for a period of 12 months. (Huff Post says 2 years below.)
More from The Huffington Post:
A former bishop's televised admission that he sexually abused two of his nephews caused an uproar in Belgium on Friday, with the prime minister, senior clergy and a prosecutor expressing shock at the way the ex-prelate made light of his offenses.
In an interview that aired Thursday Roger Vangheluwe, the former bishop of Bruges, spoke of his sexual abuse as "a little game," that involved fondling, but no "rough sex."
"I was never naked" and the abuse was never about "real sexuality," said Vangheluwe, 74.
....
Bruges Prosecutor Jean-Marie Berkvens said Friday the abuse of the second nephew lasted for two years. The victim was younger than 8 at the time.
....
The interview took place in a wooded Catholic retreat in Ferte-Imbault in central France, where Vangheluwe has been sent by the Vatican.
Throughout the interview, he sat relaxed, sometimes smiling and at times shrugging his shoulders as if to signal that the events he spoke of were not very serious.
Oh well. The abuse was only "superficial", only "a little game", with no "rough sex", and "never about real sexuality". And the one nephew did not object. Move along. Nothing to see here.
One of the tragedies of this story is that Vangheluwe is probably not lying. Very likely, he saw what he was doing exactly as he describes it. And the nephews whom he abused? What do they say? How were they affected by the "superficial" abuse? Ah, we don't know, but, from the stories of others who were abused, we can surmise that they were harmed, probably seriously, by abuse from the adult relative whom they trusted.
So. Vanghelhuwe has been sent to a French monastery, while the Vatican decides what to do with him.
The abuse started when the nephews were 5 years old and 8 years old and continued for years. I thought I could not be surprised further with stories about child abuse and denial, but it seems I can. The old mind is boggled.
Thanks to Lapin and Ann V for the links.
