THE Belgian Roman Catholic Church yesterday acknowledged widespread sexual abuse over years by its clergy and pleaded for time to set up a system to punish all abusers and provide closure for victims.

The Belgian Roman Catholic church today promised to help the victims of alleged sexual abuse and punish the abusers after an independent report detailed widespread offences by clergy.

The former Belgian bishop who resigned in April after admitting he sexually abused a nephew for years said he would go into hiding to assess his future, despite calls for him to leave the church immediately.

THE former head of Belgium’s Roman Catholic Church has acknowledged that he should not have held a meeting with a victim of serial sexual abuse and suggested a cover-up until the offending bishop retired.