were against Vangheluwe, who has since retired to a Trappist monastery in Westvleteren. After the resignation of Vangheluwe, the Catholic Church launched an investigating commission into allegations of clerical child abuse in Belgium, headed by the independent psychologist Peter Adriaenssens. The commission's work came to an abrupt end on 24 June 2010, when the Belgian police raided the offices of the Catholic Church in Belgium and sealed them. There were four raids in all, with thousands of documents seized. One of the raids involved drilling into the tombs of two cardinals. The Vatican was reported as being 'indignant' over the raids, saying they had led to the "violation of confidentiality of precisely those victims for whom the raids were carried out". Nonetheless, the Adriaenssens commission published a 200-page report on 10 September 2010. According to the report, the commission heard allegations from 488 complainants, concerning incidents that took place between 1950 and 1990. The report contained testimony from 124 people, cited 320 alleged abusers, of whom 102 were known to have been clergy members from 29 congregations. Two-thirds of the complainants were men. Thirteen of the alleged victims committed suicide. In the years 2010 to 2016, 12,442 people in Flanders formally left the Catholic Church; half of these "debaptisms" were in 2010. Blessings for same sex couples In 2022, the Flemish bishops approved a blessing ceremony for homosexual couples. The three-page document noted that "such a prayerful moment can be quite simple. The difference with what the Church understands as a sacramental marriage must also be clear." The document frequently quoted the apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, of Pope Francis. The intent of the initiative, the bishops said, was to welcome homosexuals and instruct dioceses to appoint a contact person "for pastoral work with them." See also List of Catholic churches in Belgium List of Christian monasteries in Belgium Catholic Church by country Belgian Pontifical College Religion in Belgium References External links Searchportal "Catholicism in Belgium" at http://www.parochiesinbeweging.be/zoekportaal/katholieken.html Belgium Belgium