British cleric dies in suspected drug-fuelled fling with Belgian priest before papal visit
A clergyman who travelled from the UK to Belgium for the recent papal visit reportedly died during an alleged drug-fuelled sexual liaison with a Belgian priest. The Daily Telegraph reports that the 69-year-old English priest travelled to Belgium for the visit by Pope Francis and, according to a Dutch-language newspaper, died after consuming “ecstasy and The post British cleric dies in suspected drug-fuelled fling with Belgian priest before papal visit appeared first on Catholic Herald.
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A clergyman who travelled from the UK to Belgium for the recent papal visit reportedly died during an alleged drug-fuelled sexual liaison with a Belgian priest.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the 69-year-old English priest travelled to Belgium for the visit by Pope Francis and, according to a Dutch-language newspaper, died after consuming “ecstasy and poppers” while engaging in sexual activity with a local priest.
Pope Francis visited Luxembourg and Belgium during 26-29 September. One of the main reasons for his trip to Belgium was to visit the Catholic University of Leuven on 27 September to help celebrate its 600th anniversary.
The Belgian priest who allegedly hosted the other cleric – a retired Anglican chaplain, according to other media reports – at his rectory at Sint-Jozefskerk (Saint Joseph’s Church) in Kalmthout, and identified as Father Bernard, 60, has since been arrested, Het Laatste Nieuws reported on 29 September.
Fr Bernard remains in jail. His congregation appear to be remaining supportive, with some suggesting that the tragedy indicates the lonely pressures that priests can experience.
The Belgian pastor called emergency services shortly after midnight on Thursday, 26 September, but paramedics were unable to resuscitate the English cleric, according to local media reports.
On Saturday, 28 September, the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office reported: “The initial findings by the police, the lab and the forensic doctor and in this phase of the investigation show that the two men had used ecstasy and poppers together and had sex.”
Two ecstasy pills were found in the rectory, the Telegraph reports. It is not clear to whom the drugs belonged. A post-mortem examination could not determine the English clergyman’s cause of death. Toxicology tests have since been ordered to establish whether the priest died as a result of drug use.
Fr Bernard was brought before an investigating judge, who, after questioning, decided to arrest the 60-year-old and transfer him to a prison; the priest is suspected of trafficking narcotics resulting in death.
The Telegraph also relays that the Belgian newspaper reported on the parish priest’s absence at Sunday Mass in the small Belgian parish of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Essen-Kalmthout.
Just before 11 a.m., the church bells sounded through the village and about 40 parishioners came through the entrance of Sint-Jozefskerk.
Blue police tape had previously marked off the entrance for three days, with the building sealed because of a judicial investigation.
Eddy Marstboom, the 84-year-old chairman of the church council, broke the news to the congregation: “A painful incident occurred in our rectory during the night from Thursday to Friday,” Mr Marstboom said.
“The true circumstances of the incident are extraordinary,” he said, before adding: “I don’t want to say more about it. Bernard had been working in the parish for five years and was previously also dean in Antwerp-South.”
Mr Marstboom said: “Bernard is a dedicated priest. He did his job well, liked to mingle with people after church services and was greatly appreciated for that. But admittedly, all of this is also a complete surprise to us. We now mainly hope that the law will do its job quickly because I can well imagine that this is particularly difficult for him.”
The Belgian newspaper spoke to some of the parishioners after Mass.
“Priests often live a lonely existence,” one churchgoer noted. “They often fall back on themselves and of course, they also have human needs. It is a disaster that he is being portrayed in such a bad light.”
An older female parishioner said: “I hope he gets off easy, although I do fear that he will never be able to start over as a pastor, he has now been given a label that he can’t get rid of.”
On 3 October, Fr Bernard will appear before the council chamber. In addition to criminal proceedings, the bishop will have to decide whether Fr Bernard can ever work in the Church again, the Telegraph notes.
The tragedy comes at a particularly difficult time for the Catholic Church in Belgium. The country used to be one of the most Catholic in Europe. In 1900, official statistics claimed that 99 per cent of the population was Catholic.
Today that share has fallen to 57 per cent. Though the Church still boasts an extensive network of Catholic schools, including two internationally recognised universities, and also provides over half the total number of hospital beds in the country and a third of its nursing homes.
In one sign of recognition for the Church’s role, priest salaries are paid by the state. With roughly 1,800 priests and an average annual salary of around 52,000 euros (£43,000/$58,000), according to the Economic Research Institute that represents a total outlay in excess of 90 million euros (£75 million/$100 million).
Yet Catholic fortunes in Belgium have dimmed significantly in recent decades, due to a concentric set of three basic forces, reports Crux. The first is the root sociological trend in western Europe toward ever greater secularisation.
The second force affecting the Church’s standing is the largely progressive political climate of the country, which makes Catholic positions on matters such as abortion, birth control, gay rights and women deeply unpopular.
Finally, there’s the impact of the sexual abuse scandals. Belgium has been particularly hard-hit, including the notorious case of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who was laicized by the Vatican in March.
One measure of the impact of these forces is Mass attendance. Officially, the rate is estimated at somewhere between 6 and 10 per cent, though other studies suggest an actual rate of just 2.6 per cent.
No matter which measure one examines – priests, religious, weddings, baptisms, confirmations, etc. – statistics show steep declines across the board. Between 2017 and 2022 alone, the Belgian Church lost 915 diocesan priests, representing a 33 per cent drop.
RELATED: Pope Francis faces a tough audience in Belgium – it could be his most daunting trip yet
Photo: Sint-Jozefskerk in Kalmthout; screenshot from wikipedia.
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