- Feb 5, 2002
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ANALYSIS: Faith is flagging and euthanasia expanding in Belgium, once a bastion of Catholic culture.
Belgium’s National Basilica of the Sacred Heart stands atop Koekelberg Hill in Brussels. (photo: Maykova Galina / Shutterstock)
The indefatigable Pope Francis will be on the road again Sept. 26-29, less than two weeks after finishing a marathon voyage to Asia and Oceania. His destination this time is closer to home: the northern European countries of Luxembourg and Belgium.
Western Europe has hardly been the focus of attention for Pope Francis, the first pope from the Global South, who has preferred to reach out to developing countries and the non-Catholic world. Yet this trip will qualify, in another sense, as a visit to the “peripheries” that he has always identified as his mission field.
Once a bastion of Catholic culture, Belgium, where the Pope will spend most of his time, increasingly exemplifies the post-Christian, secular West. Fifty percent of Belgians identified as Catholic in 2022, a drop of 16% from a decade earlier, according to the country’s bishops’ conference. Only 8.9% of those attend Mass even once a month.
No aspect of Belgian society reflects this shift more starkly than its embrace of euthanasia. Belgium was the second country in the world to legalize the practice, after the neighboring Netherlands, in 2002. Twelve years later, it legalized euthanasia for minors, with no minimum age specified.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The indefatigable Pope Francis will be on the road again Sept. 26-29, less than two weeks after finishing a marathon voyage to Asia and Oceania. His destination this time is closer to home: the northern European countries of Luxembourg and Belgium.
Western Europe has hardly been the focus of attention for Pope Francis, the first pope from the Global South, who has preferred to reach out to developing countries and the non-Catholic world. Yet this trip will qualify, in another sense, as a visit to the “peripheries” that he has always identified as his mission field.
Once a bastion of Catholic culture, Belgium, where the Pope will spend most of his time, increasingly exemplifies the post-Christian, secular West. Fifty percent of Belgians identified as Catholic in 2022, a drop of 16% from a decade earlier, according to the country’s bishops’ conference. Only 8.9% of those attend Mass even once a month.
No aspect of Belgian society reflects this shift more starkly than its embrace of euthanasia. Belgium was the second country in the world to legalize the practice, after the neighboring Netherlands, in 2002. Twelve years later, it legalized euthanasia for minors, with no minimum age specified.
Continued below.
The Pope’s Next Visit to the ‘Peripheries’ Is in the Heart of Europe
ANALYSIS: Faith is flagging and euthanasia expanding in Belgium, once a bastion of Catholic culture.
