Leading Belgian Catholic priest Francois Houtart admits sex abuse of cousin
ANOTHER scandal has hit the Catholic Church in Belgium after a priest being promoted as a candidate for next years Nobel Peace Prize confessed to sexually abusing his eight-year-old cousin 40 years ago.
Francois Houtart, 85, called the “pope of alternative globalisation” for helping developing countries, yesterday admitted the allegations made by one of his cousins. He also confirmed that he had asked the World Social Forum, an organisation of groups opposed to neo-liberalism, to stop its nomination campaign for the prize.
Canon Houtart told the Belgian newspaper Le Soir that after a conference he had stayed the night with relatives near Liege. “While walking through the bedroom of one of the boys in the family, I effectively touched his private parts twice. This woke him up and frightened him. It was obviously an inconsiderate and irresponsible act,” he said in a letter sent from the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, where he is living.
Read more at Leading Belgian Catholic priest Francois Houtart admits sex abuse of cousin | The Australian.
