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Paul AmesSeptember 14, 2010 06:46Updated September 18, 2010 08:10
Belgium: Amid sex scandals, de-baptism gains favor
Child sex abuse, and other church failings, lead Belgians to formally renounce religion.
Child sex abuse, and other church failings, lead Belgians to formally renounce religion.
“I left the Catholic religion years ago when I was a young adult and became an atheist, but last year I found out that the Church still considered me as one of theirs, and I wanted to be taken off their lists,”said the Brussels-based psychologist and management coach.
“I found the points of view of the Catholic Church had become more and more conservative, hostile to certain lifestyles and I decided to pull out,”added Lorio, who has set up his own website to promote discussion on the issue.
Christine Mironzcyk decided she would formally abandon the faith of her Polish immigrant parents after she became a grandmother.
“My son was never baptized and neither is my granddaughter, so I thought it was time to join them,”said Mironzcyk, who is president of the Federation of Friends of Secular Morality. “It’s a very personal action, a very powerful act … I’m glad to have done it.”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/benelux/100910/catholic-church-belgium-sexual-abuse-priests
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