Belgian radio hosts have apologized after airing a video feature in which they were seen smashing statues of both Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
At the Radiodays Europe conference in Riga, Latvia, EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn on March 23 asked Studio Brussel hosts Sam De Bruyn, Eva De Roo, and Dries Lenaerts about the January segment, which featured the violent destruction of several objects including the Christian statuary.
De Roo said the segment was in observance of “Blue Monday.”
“We were beating the blue out of the Monday,” she said. “So people could text us like, ‘I’m having really a blue Monday because my car broke and everything.’ OK, I will smash something for you!”
Asked by Flynn if Christian viewers might find the destruction of the Jesus and Mary statues “deeply offensive,” De Bruyn acknowledged that it “might” be offensive, but “in Belgium, not really.”
“We’re not a very religious country, definitely not the listeners of Studio Brussels,” he said. He noted that “all the things we smashed” were “all things that were already broken.”
De Bruyn admitted he would have been “more careful in another country, definitely.” But “in Belgium, it is not a big issue.”
Asked if the hosts would consider smashing a statue of the Islamic prophet Muhammed, De Bruyn said such a proposal was “dangerous.”
De Roo argued that the hosts were “all from the Christian tradition,” and De Bruyn pointed out that they were all “raised Catholic,” which, he claimed, “gives us a little more credit to do this.”
De Roo directly apologized during the interview, and the news network formally issued an apology on March 24, telling media that the company “misjudged” the segment.
“Eva and Dries offer their apologies. The video was intended as a humorous piece, and they underestimated how sensitive religious symbols can be,” the network said.
The station said it “considers it important that all its staff show respect for every religion. We are not concerned with comparing religions but with treating everyone’s beliefs with care.”
Data show that Belgium is a majority-secular country. About 59% of the population says it does not belong to any religion.
The majority of religious adherents in the country identify as Roman Catholic, while 15% identify as Muslim.