Jean-Marc Turine was 13 years old when he started at the Jesuit-led elite school Collège Saint-Michel in central Brussels in 1959.
And that's where he died – if not literally. For several years, he was subjected to sexual abuse by priests who worked as teachers.
"Even if they don't kill us physically, they still kill us. We are dead when we come out of their rooms," he wrote in a book in 2022 when he finally felt ready to tell what had happened.
Meets the Pope
At the age of 78, author and radio producer Turine is now part of a small group of 15 Belgian victims of abuse who will meet Pope Francis during the weekend when the head of the Catholic Church visits Belgium.
They have already conveyed their wishes in a letter to the Vatican, including creating a memorial in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, dedicated to all victims of abuse.
"You could be inspired by all the monuments around the world for the dead in various wars," the victims write, according to the newspaper Le Soir.
Many Scandals
Sexual abuse within the Church was highlighted in Belgium last autumn in a documentary series on Flemish TV. The outrage was great when it was revealed that the former bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, was still allowed to call himself bishop, despite revelations in 2010 about how he had sexually exploited a sibling for many years.
Shortly after, another scandal emerged when it was revealed that the Church in Flanders had adopted away tens of thousands of newborn babies from unmarried or allegedly unfit mothers between World War II and the 1980s.
In addition, there have been recent revelations in neighboring France about the long-celebrated priest, aid worker, and resistance hero Abbé Pierre, who sexually exploited women and minors – which was also known to the Church, at least after his death in 2007.
Mass on Sunday
The meeting between the Belgian survivors and the Pope will be held internally. When and where it takes place is being kept quiet.
It's obvious that the Church loves silence, says Jean-Marc Turine to Le Soir.
He and the others are still urging the Pope to take the opportunity during the mass he will hold at Brussels' largest football stadium on Sunday.
"There is no reconciliation without truth. And it would become even stronger if you went down in history as the first Pope to better protect victims of sexual abuse than the perpetrators," the survivors write in their letter.
Pope Francis is visiting Belgium this week to mark the 600th anniversary of the Catholic University of Leuven – the country's oldest. Francis will meet students and professors on Friday and Saturday to discuss, among other things, migration and climate issues.
On Friday, the Pope will also give a speech to the nation during a visit to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. On Sunday, he will hold a mass in front of 35,000 spectators at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
