Broken woman
The laicization must then be approved by the Vatican and co-signed by the perpetrator. As a layman he is still allowed to perform certain services in the church. His life continues, that of the Verstraete family hardly. “My mother is a broken woman, and that will certainly be the case for the rest of her life. When I ask, what can you do, I think that writing a card or a letter could mean something to her. But if we look at the group of victims in general, they will have to come forward through other means.”
Very committed
Financial compensation for the sky-high medical costs, for example, but that is not forthcoming. Yet Verstraete returns from the conversation with the bishop with a good feeling. “There have been no apologies. But he does feel very responsible for what happened, I have to say that. I cannot say anything negative about that. He is very concerned and very angry about what happened in the past. What happened could not and should not have happened. It does give me a warm feeling that I was warmly welcomed. But it is a mixed feeling. If a sentence is only pronounced after 40 years, then I wonder what we are doing. I will remain the to fight. Not only for myself, but also for all the victims who keep coming.”
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