Pope Francis deposed today a Belgian former bishop, who had admitted 14 years ago that had sexually abused two of his nephews.

Roger Vanhelue, 87 today, was bishop of Bruges from 1985 until 2010 when he resigned following the uproar caused by his admission that he had sexually abused a nephew for 13 years.

A year later, he revealed that he had also sexually abused his second nephew, claiming that he did not consider himself a pedophile.

Belgian prosecutors explained at the time that it was not possible to bring charges against Vanhelue, as the offenses were time-barred.

However, the Minister of Justice urged the Vatican to impose a severe sentence on him.

The Roman Catholic Church in Belgium announced today that Vanhelue was deposed by Pope Francis. He clarified that the 87-year-old will remain in the abbey, where he has been living in seclusion for the last few years.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croix expressed his satisfaction, recalling that the government had urged the Vatican to act quickly.

“It’s a right decision. It was late, but necessary for victims seeking justice“, he wrote in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

In recent years the Roman Catholic Church rocked by sexual abuse scandals with leading priests in various countries of the world.

Critics of Pope Francis accuse the pontiff of not doing enough to expel the perpetrators from the Church and help their victims.