RoyalDish - King Baudouin of The Belgians (1930-1993)

https://nos.nl/artikel/25...n-heilige-is-voor-de-paus

Loosely translated as:

NOS News
•
today, 15:53

Why Belgian King Baudouin is a 'saint' for the Pope

The Pope starts the procedure for beatification of King Baudouin. The King of the Belgians, who died in 1993, was deeply religious and strongly against abortion, just like Pope Francis.

It is unusual for a Pope to start the procedure for beatification himself. Usually, this happens from the bottom up and there are local believers who advocate beatification. Even after the death of King Baudouin, this was urged by devout Catholics in Belgium. But an official procedure did not get off the ground then. Now it has, due to the Pope himself.

'Courageous man'
Francis made the announcement yesterday at the end of the mass in the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. According to the broadcaster VRT, this remark came as a surprise, both to the Belgian bishops and to the royal palace.

Pope Francis made no secret of his admiration for Baudouin during his visit to Belgium. He visited the Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, where Baudouin and his wife Fabiola are buried. He called him a "brave man who refused to sign a murderous law".

The Pope was referring to Baudouin's refusal to sign the law that would no longer prosecute abortion up to the twelfth week after conception. In 1990, Baudouin told the then deputy prime minister: "For me as a believer, it is totally incompatible with what you want. So don't insist. It's no."

The abortion law was passed anyway, in a roundabout way. The king was declared 'unfit to rule' for a period of 36 hours. The government was then able to sign the law itself and it became legally valid.

'Hired assassins'
In a conversation with journalists on the plane back to Rome yesterday, the Pope called the king a politician with backbone. "He has sent a message. And he has done so because he is a saint. He is a saint, and the procedure to beatify him is being initiated."

This decision can also be seen as a signal. In the same conversation, not for the first time, the Pope called doctors who perform abortions "hired killers". "There can be no discussion about that. A human life is destroyed. That is murder."

A procedure for beatification can take many years. One requirement is that the church is certain that a miracle can be attributed to the person concerned. Extensive and thorough research is also conducted into the person's conduct.

Congo
Everything is examined in this process. And then there are critical comments to be made about Boudewijn. For example, he called the controversial Belgian king Leopold II "a genius" and "bringer of civilization".

Leopold II conducted a reign of terror in Congo. At the end of the 19th century, he regarded the 'Congo Free State' as a personal colony. In the extraction of valuables such as ivory and rubber, the population was pressured to work as hard as possible, through torture, executions and other terror measures.

Vatican Correspondent Andrea Vreede:
"The Pope deliberately chooses the figure of King Baudouin to send a strong signal against abortion. According to church doctrine, abortion is not acceptable under any circumstances. The Pope has described abortion as murder on several occasions. During his visit to Belgium, he called proposed laws on abortion murderous.

Francis is well aware that abortion is an important issue in the US presidential elections. At an earlier press conference, he stated that both presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, are "against life".

In the case of Harris, this was because of her positive attitude towards abortion. Like his predecessors, this Pope does not hesitate to strongly oppose matters in the political arena that the church considers absolutely unacceptable, such as euthanasia and, in this case, abortion."

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