Belgian bishop resigns after sexually abusing boy

THE bishop of the Flemish city of Bruges has resigned after admitting sexually abusing a young boy several years ago, the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium announced yesterday.

Roger Vangheluwe was the first bishop directly implicated in sex abuse to resign since a fresh wave of scandals involving Roman Catholic priests.

“When I was still a simple priest and for a while when I began as a bishop, I sexually abused a young man in my close entourage,” Vangheluwe said in a letter read out to reporters by a Church official.