The 200-page report of the Adriaenssens Commission contains testimony from some of the victims of the 475 cases brought to light after Vangheluwe's resignation as bishop. Accounts had to stop being detailed last June when case files were seized by police on the orders of a Brussels magistrate. A court has since decided that those files are not admissible in evidence, but the report, while only scratching the surface of the problem, is a shocking document revealing long-term institutionalised abuse by Catholic clergy in Belgium.

Many of the cases go back as far as the 1950s, which means that some of the victims are now more than 70 years old. Most of the victims were boys — 327 compared to 161 girls — and most were at the time of the abuse between 10 and 14 years old. However, the youngest case on the record involves a child of two.

Most of the cases examined cannot be brought to court because Belgian law considers them timed-out: too many years have passed since the events for any prosecution to take place. The same rule applies to the crimes of the former bishop himself, who admitted abusing his own nephew from the time he was five until the age of 18. His victim is now 42.

In the cases described, many of the children involved were attending Catholic schools or boarding schools, though others were simply members of a congregation. In the words of Professor Adriaenssens, speaking at a press conference at the Catholic University of Leuven: "I will tell you that in most cases it's not a question of touching, as some would have you believe. Many [victims] suffered terrible acts, including anal and oral sex. I have worked for 23 years in this sector, but even
for me these stories made me sick to my stomach."

The cases chosen by the Adriaenssens commission are only a sample of the complaints they received, and those are, as most authorities admit, only the tip of the iceberg.

Aside from the details of the abuse, the most important issue revealed by the report is the system that allowed such practices to continue for such a long period. "The children often had worries about the consequences," Adriaenssens said.

"Some of the abusers paid for their victims' studies, or the abused children were given better marks. There were also consequences for the parents, whose reputation was often at stake. Imagine your son were to be expelled from a prestigious college. They didn't want to risk that. Three out of four victims let their parents know, without any result. That's also a constant in all of this testimony - victims who tell their story in confidence to a teacher or priest, but the confidant does nothing. The silencing of this abuse lies in society itself."

Two weeks ago, tapes made by the neph- ew of Vangheluwe during a meeting he had with the former head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, Cardinal Godfried Dan- neels, were released to De Standaard. The retired archbishop clearly suggests to the victim, who was abused for 13 years from the age of five, that he put off any public statements until Vangheluwe retired. Vang- heluwe was ordained as a bishop before the abuse was revealed.

Vangheluwe, who resigned as bishop when the affair was about to become public, had so far declined to make an public statements for apologies. Last weekend he announced that he was moving out of Westvleteren abbey to an undisclosed location and issued a written statement:

"On 23 April, I offered my resignation as bishop and said that I was very sorry for what I did in the past. At that time, I asked for forgiveness and offered my apologies to the victim, his family and the whole church community. I wish to do the same now. My regret has increased on seeing how much anger my acts have caused. Many others have been drawn into a spiral of sorrow and confusion, among them Cardinal Danneels. I wish once more to admit my guilt and ask the forgiveness of the church, of society and of all those who have suffered.

"I am intensely thankful to the father abbot and the community of Westvleteren abbey for their hospitality over the last months. From this day on, I will reflect upon my life and my future somewhere secret, away from the bishopric of Bruges."

Because the law in Belgium bars prosecution of child sexual abuse that is reported more than 10 years after the victim reaches the age of majority, Vangheluwe is not a fugitive from justice. Unless the justice sys- tem can show he abused others within that time limit, he is untouchable. There is now pressure from many quarters to extend or even abandon that time limit, although it would not have a retroactive effect.

According to the Adriaenssens report, 95 of the clerics identified by victims are now dead. A further 91 are still alive, and may or may not be subject to the time limit. However, a ruling by the courts last month means that they cannot now be prosecuted on the basis of the testimony given to the commission.