Another Belgian Priest Mourned by Concubine — Is Celibacy Still in Force?

The late Belgian Catholic priest Abbé Maurice Léonard, who was publicly mourned by his female “companion” and his “children of the heart,” was not an isolated case.

RiposteCatholique.fr has published on January 29 another obituary that renews questions about clerical celibacy in Belgium.

Abbé Marc Otjacques, a longtime priest in the Andenne region, died on September 4, 2025 at age 73 in a bicycle accident while returning from presiding over a Eucharist.

The official diocesan obituary praised his decades-long commitment to the poor and made no mention of a concubine.

According to a separate family-published notice, the priest was mourned by Madeleine Dorjoux, identified as his companion; Caroline and Ludovic Trufin-Struvay, described as his “daughter of the heart” and son-in-law; and Laure-Anne and Romain, his beloved grandchildren.

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