As part of his trip to Belgium, Pope Francis made a surprise visit to Saint Gilles where he met with homeless and undocumented people.
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00:00In a surprise change to his schedule, Pope Francis met with homeless and undocumented
00:07people in Brussels' Church of Saint-Gilles on Saturday morning. Among the group was a
00:12migrant who made his way on a boat across the Mediterranean to the Italian island of
00:16Lampedusa and then was thrown in prison. Shortly after, he left for the Koukouberg Basilica
00:23of the Sacred Heart, where he addressed local bishops, priests and the Catholic community.
00:29People read out letters in which they challenged the Pope and shared questions on various aspects
00:33of the Catholic Church. Just a day earlier, Francis also received public criticisms from
00:41the Belgian king, prime minister and the rector of the Catholic University in Leuven. These
00:46included the church's cover-up of clergy's sexual abuse and its refusal to respond to
00:51demands of women and LGBTQ plus Catholics for a place in the church.
00:57The rector of Leuven Catholic University told the Pope that the abuse scandals had
01:01so weakened the church's moral authority that it would do well to reform, to the point of
01:06ordaining women as priests if it wants to regain its relevance.