BRUSSELS — The Catholic Church was ashamed and humiliated by the clerical sexual abuse in Belgium, Pope Francis said on Friday, stating that it “must be ashamed and try to resolve the situation with Christian humility and make every effort so this doesn’t happen again.”

During his meeting with the country's leaders and members of civil society in Brussels, the pontiff said that the feelings stem from “the shame that today we must confront and beg forgiveness and resolve the problem, the shame of abuse, of the abuse of minors.”

He labeled the two decades of revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups as a "scourge," comparing it to King Herod's slaughtering of innocents, according to the Vatican News outlet.

Pope Francis further insisted on no more excuses for any cases of abuse, no matter whether they happen in church or elsewhere. “In the Church, we must ask forgiveness for this,” he said.

Earlier on Friday, Belgium's prime minister blasted the pontiff for the Catholic Church's horrific legacy, demanding "concrete steps" to come clean with the past and put victims' interests ahead of those of the institution.

The blistering speech by PM Alexander De Croo on Friday was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip, where the genteel dictates of diplomatic protocol usually keep outraged out of public speeches.

But even King Philippe had strong words for Pope Francis, demanding the church work "incessantly" to atone for the crimes and help victims heal.

Their tone underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium, where the revelations devastated the hierarchy's credibility and contributed to an overall decline in Catholicism and the influence of the once-powerful Catholic Church.

"Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps," De Croo said.

"Victims need to be heard. They need to be at the center. They have a right to truth. Misdeeds need to be recognized," he said in front of an audience of royals, church officials, diplomats and politicians at Laeken Castle, the residence of Belgium’s royal family.

"When something goes wrong we cannot accept cover-ups," De Croo continued. "To be able to look into the future, the Church needs to come clean on its past."

Revelations of Belgium's horrific abuse scandal have dribbled out in bits over a quarter-century, punctuated by a bombshell in 2010 when the country’s longest-serving bishop, Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, was allowed to resign without punishment after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew for 13 years.

Pope Francis only defrocked Vangheluwe earlier this year in a move clearly designed to remove a lingering source of outrage among Belgians before his visit.

The pontiff applauded at the end of De Croo's speech and is expected to meet with victims in private later Friday. — Euronews