Vangheluwe reportedly “asked to be allowed to reside in a place of retreat, without any further contact with the outside world, in order to dedicate himself to prayer and penance.”
The pope’s hesitation in the matter had threatened to overshadow his planned trip to Belgium: Francis is due to visit the country later this year for the 600th anniversary celebrations of the University of Louvain.
The Belgian bishops had already repeatedly demanded that the Vatican laicize the now-87-year-old man, as had large sections of Belgian society.
In January, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had called for Vangheluwe, who was still living as a cleric at the time, to be stripped of his episcopal title.
Two nephews sexually abused
Vangheluwe had initially admitted to having sexually abused an underage nephew for years. He resigned from his office in 2010. A few months later, he admitted on Flemish television that he had sexually abused another nephew, who was also a minor. He also revealed that he had paid the victim’s family large sums of hush money.