At the Catholic University of Leuven, Pope Francis heard pleas for women's ordination, welcome to LGBTQ people and a deeper reckoning with its history of clergy abuse and cover-up.
Pope Francis on Sept. 27 kicked off a three-day trip to Belgium by asking forgiveness for the church's shameful record on clergy abuse, but was met with a challenge by the country's prime minister that "words alone do not suffice."
Pope Francis on Sept. 26 used an eight-hour visit to one of the least populated but most secularized countries in Europe to cast a renewed vision for a church that is willing to "evolve" in order to evangelize the modern world.
Pope Francis' Sept. 26-29 visit to Luxembourg and Belgium in Europe will force him to confront some of the Catholic Church's biggest challenges, including the clergy sexual abuse crisis and declining church attendance.