public act of atonement

HEADED by Archbishop Cent°, Papal Nuncio to Belgium, 20,000 Catholics took part in an atonement ceremony in the open air in Brussels last week after a 17th century crucifix in the parish of Our Lady of the Chapel had been desecrated by a crowd of university students.
These students had covered the crucifix with rotten fruit and other filth.
All the surrounding streets were filled when the act of atonement was read in French and Flemish.
The 20,000 walked in procession before the crucifix, singing the hymn 0 We want God " and placing offerings of flowers before it.
Decades of the Rosary were said alternately in the two languages while a guard of honour with a flag from the Catholic University in Louvain stood by.
Archbishop Cent° was accompanied by the priests of the parish and clergy from other parts of Brussels. With them were the Governor of Brabant and municipal officials.