ROME — An Anglican cleric who traveled to Belgium from Britain for a recent papal visit has died after allegedly having a drug-fueled sexual relationship with a Belgian Catholic priest.
69 years old British clergyman, former Anglican minister, traveled He reportedly died after ingesting “ecstasy and poppers” during a sexual encounter with a local priest while in Belgium for a visit with Pope Francis.
The 60-year-old Belgian priest was identified as “Father Bernard” and was subsequently arrested. doubt A British priest who was responsible for a drug-trafficking death was welcomed into the parsonage of Sint Josefskerk (St. Joseph's Church) in Kalmthout, where the death took place.
Belgian pastor makes emergency call service Shortly after midnight on Thursday, September 26, emergency workers were unable to revive the British cleric.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Antwerp public prosecutor's office said: “Initial findings by police, laboratories and forensic scientists, and the findings at this stage of the investigation, indicate that the two men used ecstasy and poppers together and engaged in sexual activity. This shows that he was doing so.” September 28th.
Despite this, a post-mortem examination failed to determine the British pastor's cause of death. Toxicology tests were then ordered to determine whether the priest died as a result of drug use.
Pope Francis visited Luxembourg and Belgium from September 26th to 29th. One of the main purposes of his visit to Belgium was to visit the Catholic University of Leuven on September 27th to commemorate its 600th anniversary.
Father Bernard is scheduled to appear before the council on October 3. In addition to criminal proceedings, church authorities will need to determine whether the priest may resume his pastoral role.
The scandal comes at a particularly difficult time for the Belgian Catholic Church, one of the most liberal churches in Europe.
Currently, only 57 percent of the population is Catholic, and Mass attendance is low even by European standards.
Sexual abuse scandals have hit the Belgian church hard, including the infamous case of Roger Vanherwe, Bishop of Bruges. He was dismissed by the Vatican in March last year after confessing to continuous sexual activity with two of his nephews who were underage.
