25-647: Roger Joseph Vangheluwe (born 7 November 1936) is a former prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Bruges from 1985 to 2010 when he resigned after admitting that while he was a priest and a bishop he had sexual relations over 15 years with his nephew, who was a minor. He later described similar behavior with a second nephew, also a minor, over the course of a year. Pope Francis laicized him in March 2024. Belgium's statute of limitations prevented him from being prosecuted for these acts. Roger Vangheluwe
50-488: A laser warning device . The vehicle also has an IFF system, NBC protection , explosion-suppression system, fire-extinguishing system and air conditioning. According to Norinco, the VT-4 uses a locally produced 1,200 hp (895 kW) VT/E1 diesel engine with torsion bar suspension and an Ch1000B automatic transmission. Steering and acceleration is handled by a steering wheel and automatic gear transmission . VT-4
75-479: A way, it's not a tougher subject than many others. Yes, it's embarrassing, it's scandalous. But then again, so are many other things.... Also, there have been some articles that imply that pedophilia is nowhere so little prevalent as in the Church." Two days later, on 21 April 2010, the catholic periodical 'Kerk en Leven' ('Church and Life') published the following quote taken from his answer: "At present we suffer from
100-656: Is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium . It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels , which covers all of Belgium. A diocese from 1558 to its suppression in 1801, in 1832 it became a pre-diocesan apostolic vicariate as the Apostolic Administration of West Flanders . Its territory coincides with West Flanders . The episcopal see of
125-412: Is also a remote controlled weapon station on the turret armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The fire-control system has a panoramic sight with hunter-killer capabilities. The gunner sight features a laser rangefinder and a Thales Catherine-FC thermal imager. The tank is protected by dual-layer protection consisting of composite armour and FY-4 explosive reactive armour . According to
150-520: Is not allowed any public exercise of priestly or episcopal ministry. The psychological treatment is provided by the Congregation to obtain additional information useful for diagnosis and prognosis, to come to a final decision, which remains the responsibility of the congregation itself, and to be approved by the Holy Father. This decision will of course take into account the different aspects of
175-744: The Apostolic Nunciature to Belgium said that the former bishop "asked to be able to reside in a place of retreat, without any contact with the outside world ". Vangheluwe features as a main character in Bruges ( Edinburgh Festival 2014), a play in The Europeans Trilogy (Bruges, Antwerp , Tervuren ) by UK playwright Nick Awde . [REDACTED] Media related to Roger Vangheluwe at Wikimedia Commons Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges ( Latin : Dioecesis Brugensis ; Dutch : Bisdom Brugge )
200-407: The Catholic Church in Belgium wants to "turn over a leaf from a not very distant past". On 26 April 2010, it was reported that Vangheluwe had retired to Westvleteren Abbey with a state pension of about US$ 3,600 a month. In September 2010, Vangheluwe announced he was leaving the abbey and that "as of today, I will contemplate my life and future somewhere hidden, outside the bishopric of Bruges". He
225-461: The Diocese of Ghent . On 17 December 1832, shortly after the independence of Belgium , the territory was restored as the pre-diocesan Apostolic Administration of West Flanders . On 27 May 1834, the territory was again promoted to diocese and renamed after its see, Bruges, while the incumbent Apostolic Administrator became Suffragan Bishop. On 31 May 1967 the diocese lost a portion of territory to
250-650: The diaconate . He had a reputation as a popular and friendly bishop, "not a church servant in an ivory tower, but a true friend of the people". He advocated for a greater role for women in the Church, but was traditional on questions of divorce and homosexuality. His 25th anniversary in Bruges was marked with a large celebration in February 2010. When asked during a university lecture on 19 April 2010 how pedophilia should best be discussed in class, Vangheluwe replied: "I think you need to be well informed about these things. In
275-570: The Low Countries. A 2010 scandal saw Bishop Roger Vangheluwe , a confessed and hardly remorseful pederast, forced into early retirement. [REDACTED] Media related to Roman Catholic Diocese of Brugge at Wikimedia Commons VT4 The VT-4 ( Chinese : VT-4主战坦克 ; pinyin : VT-4 zhǔzhàn tǎnkè ), also known as the MBT-3000 , is a Chinese modernized main battle tank built by Norinco for overseas export. During
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#1732802284634300-470: The VT-4. The VT-4 shares many subsystems technology and features from other latest Chinese main battle tanks such as Type 96B and Type 99A . Key examples are an automatic transmission system, 125 mm smoothbore cannon, muzzle reference system, FY-4 ERA, carousel-style autoloader , and overall geometry. The VT-4 has a ZPT-98A 125 mm smoothbore gun capable of firing APFSDS , HEAT and HE rounds and gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles . There
325-467: The boy was five years old. The abuse began when Vangheluwe was a priest and continued after he became a bishop. His is the first episcopal resignation in Belgium relating to the sexual abuse of minors. At the time Vangheluwe was Belgium's longest serving bishop, a year shy of the standard retirement age of 75. Vangheluwe's resignation was announced at a press conference by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard . Leonard said that Vangheluwe's resignation shows that
350-438: The chief designer Feng Yibai, the frontal protection force is equivalent to 500 mm homogeneous steel armour, and the explosive reactive armour is around 700 mm. The front turret has wedge-shaped armour similar to other contemporary Chinese MBT's and the hull sides have conventional metal sideskirts. The VT-4A1 variant is equipped with a 'hardkill' active protection system designated GL5 , defensive grenade launchers and
375-496: The development of Type 90-II/Al-Khalid (also known as MBT-2000) in the 1980s, the gearbox and engine were originally imported from Germany, but this plan was abandoned due to a Western arms embargo. The powertrain instead was sourced from Ukraine, the same for most Chinese export vehicles at the time. China eventually developed domestic powertrains, which led to the creation of the MBT-3000 program for export customers. MBT-3000
400-554: The diocese is St. Salvator's Cathedral , dedicated to Our Savior , in Bruges , West Flanders, which is also a minor basilica . The patron saint of the diocese is Donatian of Reims , so the cathedral is also known as Sint-Salvators- en Donaaskathedraal . As of 2014 , it pastorally served 965,000 Catholics (82.1% of 1,174,752 total) on 3,145 km² in 362 parishes and 65 missions with 708 priests (499 diocesan, 209 religious), 91 deacons, 1,986 lay religious (290 brothers, 1,696 sisters) and 7 seminarians. An earlier diocese of Bruges
425-716: The interview, noting that the Vatican had insisted that Vangheluwe remain silent. He called the interview "shocking". In a decision made known to Vangheluwe on 20 March 2024, Pope Francis laicized Vangheluwe, as Belgium's bishops had long advocated, on the recommendation of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which had conducted a re-examination of his case, which included hearing testimony from Vangheluwe, following new charges brought against him. The announcement made by
450-512: The issue, beginning with the suffering of the victims and the needs of justice. The process is still ongoing and therefore the decision taken so far by the Congregation is provisional and not final." On 14 April 2011, Vangheluwe gave an interview to Flemish TV station VT4 . In the interview, he admitted to abusing another nephew. He also stated that he did not see himself as a pedophile . The interview caused indignation in Belgium. On 24 April 2011, Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard strongly condemned
475-410: The much older Diocese of Tournai , shortly after a reshuffle of provincial borders involving a few municipalities, notably Mouscron being transferred to the province of Hainaut (to which the bishopric of Tournai is now limited). In 1985 the diocese of Bruges experienced a papal visit from Pope John Paul II , who on 17 May gave a homily on the horrors of war at Ypres as part of his pastoral visit to
500-558: The scandals that batter the Church: everywhere there are stories of priests abusing children. It's horrible to see these things surface, and they hurt us deeply. Nevertheless, this shouldn't blind us from the fact that the majority of priests lead exemplary lives and represent a support to many.... They aspire to imitate Jesus." On 23 April 2010, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Vangheluwe's resignation after his admission that he had repeatedly sexually abused his nephew for 13 years, starting when
525-508: Was born on 7 November 1936 at Roeselare , the youngest of four children in a family of modest means. He attended the less prestigious local Catholic school, not the Minor Seminary as middle class peers did. He earned a licentiate in theology and biblical languages and a diploma in mathematics at KU Leuven . He was ordained a priest on 1 February 1963 and then fulfilled assignments in education and parish ministry. From 1968 to 1984 he
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#1732802284634550-559: Was established on 12 May 1558, on territory split off from the Diocese of Tournai , as part of the great Habsburg reform of the church in the then Spanish Low Countries . Its see, St. Donatian's Cathedral , was destroyed in a fire in 1799 during the aftermath of the French Revolution . During the reforms under the Napoleonic Concordate , the diocese was suppressed on 15 July 1801 and its territory merged into
575-587: Was professor at the Major Seminary in Bruges . He was also vicar for the central district of the diocese beginning in 1969 and was secretary of that vicariate from 1977 to 1984. He was appointed Bishop of Bruges on 15 December 1984 by Pope John Paul II . He was received his episcopal consecration in Bruges on 3 February 1985 from Cardinal Godfried Danneels . He represented the Belgian Bishops' Conference at KU Leuven and chaired its committee on
600-709: Was reported to be living in an abbey in the Loire Valley. On 4 April 2011, the Reuters news service reported that Belgian authorities were not considering prosecuting Vangheluwe because his crimes occurred too long ago . On 12 April 2011, the Holy See Press Office announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had ruled that Vangheluwe must leave Belgium and undergo spiritual and psychological treatment. Its statement said that "he
625-564: Was the successor of the Type-90II (MBT-2000) export tank. The MBT-3000 project later named as VT-4 began development in 2009 as a co-operation with the First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory and other companies. The MBT-3000 concept debuted at the 2012 Eurosatory . The tank was subsequently shown at the 2014 Norinco Armour Day and the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition as
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