In Belgium, controversy around a “Church without priests”

“Let us return the Church to the people of God! To put an end to clericalism » In mid-February, a 60-page booklet with a provocative title gave rise to a lively controversy in the Church in Belgium. Written by nineteen Belgian Catholics, involved in the vicariate of health of the diocese of Liège, this text intends to promote the fight against clericalism, which would go through an inevitable suppression of the priesthood. “To suppress clericalism, the clergy must be suppressed”, they write straight away.

The authors denounce the absence, among the priests, of “truly egalitarian, therefore fraternal relations, with the Christians who surround them”. They justify their position by asserting that Christianity introduced “the supersession and the annulment of all sacred worship, of all sacred office, of all priesthood. In their eyes, moreover, “there is no such thing as a sacred Christian.”

These exchanges are emblematic of the malaise, in the Belgian Church, around the figure of the priest, decried in particular in the crisis of sexual violence committed by clerics.

Still, the reactions opposing it were not long in coming. In a column published by La Libre Belgique on Saturday March 4, nineteen Catholics responded to the appeal of Frédéric Close, a now retired magistrate, by co-signing the document “No, we do not want a Church without priests”. Within this forum, opponents want to reaffirm the role and place of the priesthood in the life of the Church.

“Wanting a Church without a priest – and, therefore, without the sacraments – is that still belonging to that of Peter? “, they ask.

In response to clericalism, a real problem raised by the signatories of the brochure, the authors conclude with the following question: “Supposing that it is possible ‘without a priest’ to behave as a child of God and brother (or sister) of human beings, is it not to be feared above all that the thirst for power of the laity will prove to be greater tomorrow than that of the clergy today? »

Jean de Codt, Belgian magistrate and former colleague of Frédéric Close, chose to sign the rostrum to “recall that the priesthood is an essential dimension of the Church and that the priest is essential to celebrate the mass, to give the sacrament of reconciliation and marry”.

Other strong reactions took place. A petition criticizing the content of the brochure was launched on February 15. This one, entitled “They want to kill the priesthood and the priesthood! », has now been signed by more than 1,700 people.

Mgr Jean-Pierre Delville, bishop of Liège, also reacted by publishing a press release on the diocesan website on February 17. He considers “these words (…) completely false when I think of the amount of dedication that I have seen among the priests and other pastoral actors of our diocese for nearly ten years of episcopate”. Further on, the bishop continues: “The initial questions posed by the authors are very relevant, but the answers are poorly instructed”.

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