The Vatican has expressed “surprise and disdain” over searches on Brussels, summoning the Belgian Ambassador. “The State Secretariat also emphasises the Vatican’s firm condemnation of all sinful and criminal abuse of minors by members of the Church, as well as the need to make amends and address such behaviour in compliance with the requirements of justice and the teachings of the Gospel.”
Questioned during the nine hour searches, which also included the graves of deceased archbishops, Belgian bishops protested about the seizing of documents belonging to the Inquiry Commission, which “goes against the right to privacy that victims are entitled to.”