“Like” several hundred times and shared more than 160 times, the testimony quickly caused an outcry, which spread to the media, political and community spheres. “In municipalities with facilities like Wemmel, the French-speaking is less and less welcome”, protest the administrator and the rain of comments going in this direction.
The city councilor puts the church back in the middle of the village
Contacted, the mayor of Wemmel, Walter Vansteenkiste (LB), is indignant at the sad controversy… And puts the blame on the funeral directors. “The funeral director advised the nearest church to the family. But when they went to this one, the date planned for the burial was already taken for another ceremony. As two ceremonies cannot take place at the same time, the priest advised to turn to the other church in Wemmel, which is moreover French-speaking.”
For the mayor, this is indeed a false controversy. “There has been an agreement since 1963 regarding this in Wemmel, but apparently the undertakers were unaware! The Church is not supposed to respect the principle of facilities, but in Wemmel there has been an agreement for 60 years for there to be a French- and Dutch-speaking service. The proof, the French-speaking priest must have been at the pension for several years, but continues to officiate to provide a service.