Pope Francis on Friday met with 15 people who were sexually abused by members of the clergy in Belgiummegapanalo, a largely Roman Catholic country where the church has been plagued by a history of scandal.

Unlike his trip to the Asia Pacific region two weeks ago, when adoring crowds and lively Catholic communities welcomed Francis, the pope’s three-day visit to Belgium stirred anger and criticism over the church’s response to sexual abuse by priests.

“One hour for 15 people? It’s not really listening,” said Marc De Bosscher, 63, who was sexually abused by a priest in his church outside Brussels in the 1970s, when he was 11 and 12. “It’s some window dressing.”

In the end, the meeting lasted more than two hours, said one man who met with the pope on Friday. “He really listened to us,” said the man, who did not want to use his name to protect his privacy. He said that the pope closed his eyes and looked down as some of the victims recounted how they were sexually abused as children. “He was ashamed for everything we told him.”

Belgium’s leaders also weighed in on Friday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in his remarks to the pope that words alone were not enough and that the public’s trust in the church had been “severely damaged.”

“Human dignity must come first, not the interests of the institution,” he said. “To be able to look into the future, the church needs to come clean on its past.”

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