ROME — An Anglican clergyman who traveled from the UK to Belgium for the recent papal visit died during an alleged drug-fueled sexual liaison with a Belgian Catholic priest.
The 69-year-old British cleric, a retired Anglican chaplain, traveled to Belgium for Pope Francis’ visit and reportedly died after ingesting “ecstasy and poppers” while engaging in sexual activity with a local priest.
The 60-year-old Belgian priest, identified as “Father Bernard” and who has since been arrested on suspicion of trafficking narcotics resulting in death, hosted the British cleric at his rectory at Sint-Jozefskerk (Saint Joseph’s Church) in Kalmthout, where the death occurred.
The Belgian pastor called emergency services shortly after midnight on Thursday, September 26, but paramedics were unable to resuscitate the English cleric.
“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,” reported the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office in a statement issued on Saturday, September 28.
Nonetheless, 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.
Pope Francis visited Luxembourg and Belgium during September 26-29. One of the main reasons for his trip to Belgium was to visit the Catholic University of Leuven on September 27 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of its founding.
Father Bernard is slated to appear before the council chamber on 3 October. In addition to criminal proceedings, Church officials will have to decide whether the priest can ever work in a pastoral role again.
The scandal comes at a particularly difficult time for the Catholic Church in Belgium, one of the most liberal churches in Europe.
The population is now just 57 percent Catholic and Mass attendance is low even by European standards.
Sexual abuse scandals have hit the Belgian Church hard, including the infamous case of the bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, who was laicized by the Vatican last March after confessing to ongoing sexual activity with two of his nephews while they were minors.
