Pope Francis' messages in Belgium caused discontent among some Catholics in the country. The Pope was clear about abortion, defining doctors who practice it as "hired killers" and praising the figure of King Baudouin.
POPE FRANCIS
The King was courageous because, in the face of a death law, he did not sign and resigned. That takes courage, doesn't it? It takes a politician “with pants” to do that.
Also, what Pope Francis said about women at the University of Louvain raised protests.
POPE FRANCIS
Woman is fruitful acceptance, care, vital dedication. Therefore, woman is more important than man. But it is bad when woman wants to be a man. No, she is woman. And that weighs, that is important.
There was no need to wait for the Pope to leave Belgium. The next day, a group of students signed a text describing part of his speech as "deplorable".
POPE FRANCIS
This statement was made at the time I was speaking. It was made beforehand and this is not moral.
This wave of dissent has culminated in 525 Belgian Catholics requesting apostasy. The term means "to renounce or abandon the faith". For all practical purposes, what they are asking for is "de-baptizing". This is what one of the Catholics who has led the protests says.
Launched on a wave of discontent, the idea of renouncing Church membership and asking to be de-baptized has clearly aroused widespread anger […]. I hope that this will lead the Church to reconsider the various questions we raised in our letter. And that, in the future, it will adopt a more progressive line of conduct, in keeping with the evolution of the world.
This sign of protest came in the form of a letter to the Apostolic Nuncio, the Archbishop of Brussels and the prelates of the other Belgian dioceses.
TR: JD
