Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
It has come to light that there is a significant number of people approaching the Catholic Church in Belgium requesting debaptism
Debaptism in Belgium hits record numbers
In the Catholic Churches recently published annual report, it is highlighted that between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, no less than 14,251 people asked to be removed from the baptismal registers.
This is a huge jump from the annual average of 1,200 or so (except 2021, when 5,000 were removed in what was then a record number) and it is believed that the VRT television series Godvergeten in which victims talked about the abuse that they had suffered was a decisive factor.
It is accepted that a TV programme has encouraged debapatism
Considering that the Godvergeten programme was produced by a TV company based in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, it perhaps hot surprising that 98 per cent of all who applied for debaptism were resident in that general area.
In order to be removed from the register, no reason needs to be given for making the request but commenting on the situation, the Catholic Church accepts that many will have chosen this option due to the widespread abuse by priests and until now, the culture of silence that surrounded the whole affair.
Although most of the abuse took place in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, there were still many additional complaints in the July 23, to June 24 period covered by the latest annual report but the number of suicides seems to be stable.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica.
Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene.
Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development.
Share your story with us by emailing [email protected], by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
