ROME (AP) — The Vatican has taken the first major step toward implementing Pope Francis’ wish to beatify the late king of Belgium for one day abdicating rather than passing legislation to legalize abortion.
The Holy See’s canonization office on Dec. 17 established a historical commission, made up of experts in Belgian history and archives, to begin investigating the life and virtues of King Baudouin, the Vatican said in a statement Saturday.
Francis surprised and even angered some Belgians when, during his visit to Brussels in September, he prayed at Baudouin’s tomb, denounced Belgium’s abortion laws as “homicidal” and announced that he wanted to beatify the late king.
Pressing the issue during his press conference on the flight home, Francis called doctors who perform abortions “hitmen.”
In the days since, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called Francis’ comments “totally unacceptable” and summoned the Vatican ambassador to Belgium to complain.
“For a foreign head of state to make such a statement about democratic decision-making in our country is absolutely unacceptable,” De Croo said during question time in Parliament, according to Belgian media. “We have no lessons to learn about how our parliamentarians pass laws democratically. Fortunately, the time when the Church dictated the law in our country is long behind us.”
Francis has strongly supported the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and has long equated it with murder or “hiring a hitman to solve a problem.” But his strong comments about abortion in Belgium only served to inflame an already problematic visit, given the terrible legacy of clergy sexual abuse in the Belgian church.
Baldwin became king after the abdication of his father, King Leopold. He abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than assent to a bill passed by parliament legalizing abortion. He died in 1993.
While praying at his tomb alongside Belgium’s current monarchs, Francis praised Baudouin’s courage and urged today’s Belgians to follow his example by rejecting a new legislative proposal to extend the legal limit for an abortion from 12 weeks to 18 weeks. after conception.
The Vatican’s canonization process typically takes years, decades, or even centuries and typically begins when the local church establishes a lasting reputation for holiness among the faithful for a particular candidate.
An investigation into the life and virtues of the candidate follows, during which historians compile documentation and interview acquaintances and experts. If historians determine that the candidate has lived a heroic life of Christian virtue, he or she can be declared venerable. The Vatican must then verify a miracle attributed to the intercession of the candidate for beatification, and a second miracle for the person to be declared a saint.
Martyrs are exempt from the miracle for beatification, and popes can skip the process entirely and declare them saints, as Francis has done on several occasions.
The convening of a historical commission suggests that ecclesiastical historians will at least carry out research into Baldwin’s life. But the Vatican statement noted that the cause did not originate as it normally would with the local Belgian church. Rather, the Holy See’s secretariat of state directed the Vatican’s canonization office to open the process, suggesting Francis may be seeking to maintain close control over the process and see it conclude quickly.
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Associated Press religion coverage is supported by The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for the content.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
This article was published by NICOLE WINFIELD on 2024-12-21 15:25:00
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