Pope ‘deplores’ Belgian raids

THE Pope has called the raids carried out by Belgian police investigating priestly sex abuse “deplorable” and asserted the autonomy of the Catholic Church to investigate abuse alongside civil law enforcement authorities.

Pope Benedict XVI issued a message yesterday to the head of the Belgian bishops’ conference, Monsignor Andre-Joseph Leonard. In it, he expressed solidarity with all Belgian bishops for the “surprising and deplorable way” in which Thursday’s raids were carried out.