A retired Church of England priest has died following a night of alleged sex and drugs with a Belgian pastor.
Father Andrew Wagstaff, 69, had spent the evening with a fellow cleric at a rectory in Kalmthout, Belgium, the Daily Mail reported.
Wagstaff was ordained three decades ago, and was the beloved chaplain of St. Boniface Church in nearby Antwerp until his retirement earlier this year.
He and the Belgian cleric, identified only as Pastor B., allegedly took drugs together and had sex, after which the Brit welt unwell, the prosecutor’s office said.
Shortly after midnight, the pastor contacted emergency services, but they were unable to revive his companion.
“It appears that the two men (allegedly) had used ecstasy and poppers together and had sex,” the prosecutor’s office told local media on Saturday.
“Two ecstasy pills were also found,” they added.
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Poppers are “party drugs” comprised of a group of chemicals that people inhale to get high, and provide a brief rush of euphoria or muscle relaxation, and are used often during sex.
“Traces of narcotics were found on the victim’s body,” Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office said, according to the Mail.
The 60-year-old Belgian was arrested and faces charges of “trafficking in narcotics resulting in death.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the initial autopsy could not provide conclusive evidence into the cause of death.
The pastor’s sojourn in Belgium was meant to coincide with Pope Francis’ visit to the country.
The pope wrapped up his weekend trip to Belgium, where King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo blasted the pontiff in their respective welcome speeches for the Catholic Church’s legacy of covering up cases of clergy sexual abuse, as well as not doing enough to support women and the LGBTQ+ community in the church.
Pope Francis expressed his remorse after being called out, begged forgiveness and promised to do everything possible to make sure such abuses never occur again.
“This is our shame and humiliation,” he said in his first public remarks on Belgian soil, the Associated Press reported.
The abuse scandal remains raw in Belgium, where revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups have devastated the hierarchy’s credibility for decades, contributing to an overall decline in Catholicism and its influence.
The pope urged people to speak up when it comes to this kind of violence.
“There is no place for abuse. There is no place for the cover-up of abuse,” the pope said.
“I ask everyone, do not cover up abuse,” he continued. “I ask bishops, do not cover up abuse.”