André-Joseph Léonard
André-Joseph Léonard , formerly André-Mutien (born May 6, 1940 in Jambes , Namur , Belgium ) is a Roman Catholic clergyman and archbishop emeritus of Mechlin-Brussels , former primate and military ordinary for Belgium. In 2015, he was fined for inaction on a sexual abuse case.
Life
André Léonard, the youngest of four sons of a family from Tournai who all became priests , studied at the Leo XIII seminary . in lions . Then he was a student at the Pontifical Belgian College in Rome and received at the Pontifical Gregorian University , the licentiate in theology. On July 19, 1964, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Namur . In Leuven he obtained a master's degree in philosophy with the thesis “Commentaire littéral de la Logique de Hegel” and a doctorate in philosophy. He was initially a lecturer and from 1976 professor of philosophy at the Higher Institute of Philosophy at the Université catholique de Louvain . In July 1978 he was also rector of the Séminaire Saint-Paul. In 1987 he was appointed a member of the International Theological Commission , an advisory body of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith .
On February 7, 1991, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Namur to succeed Robert-Joseph Mathen . The Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels , Godfried Cardinal Danneels , donated him episcopal ordination on April 14th of the same year . Co -consecrators were his predecessor Robert-Joseph Mathen and the Bishop of Ghent , Léonce Albert Van Peteghem . His motto is Veni Domine Jesu (“Come, Lord Jesus”, Rev 22.20 EU ).
He is a co-organizer of the Family Pride Brussels , a rally at which the diocese and guests want to highlight the importance of the family for European society by means of a march through Brussels. Léonard is known for his benevolent attitude towards the extraordinary form of the Latin rite , the so-called Tridentine Mass , and also celebrates the form himself, for example at the World Eucharistic Congress in Québec in 2008.
On January 18, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him . in succession to Godfried Cardinal Danneels as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. The inauguration ceremony in Brussels Cathedral took place on February 27 of the same year. Associated with this office are the title “ Primate of Belgium” and the presidency of the Belgian Bishops' Conference. On February 27, 2010 Benedict XVI appointed him. also as a military professor for Belgium . On June 1, 2015, the Belgian Bishops' Conference announced that Pope Francis had accepted his age-related resignation, but asked Léonard to remain in office until a successor was appointed. Pope Francis accepted his age-related resignation on November 6, 2015.
He became known to a wider public primarily because of controversial statements on pedophilia and HIV. In October 2010, Léonard sparked a scandal in a new book of interviews with him ( Msgr. Léonard - conversations ) stating that AIDS could be "a kind of inherent justice". Due to the strong criticism, Léonard clarified his statements and explained that homosexuality is just a vice like smoking: "If a heavy smoker gets lung cancer, that is also a kind of justice." He did not mention heterosexual HIV-positive. He also called for leniency in the condemnation of older priests who are accused of pedophilia. With his controversial remarks, Léonard turned parts of the Belgian public against him.
In November 2010 a member of an action group threw a cake in Léonard's face during a service. The group justified the attack against the Belgian news agency Belga with the archbishop's controversial stance on abortion and homosexuality. In April 2013, several activists from the FEMEN group disrupted a lecture by Léonard, bared their breasts and sprinkled the bishop with holy water. The reason for the action were homophobic statements by Léonard.
In 2013, Léonard set up the Society of the Holy Apostles, founded by Michel-Marie Zanotti-Sorkine, canonically in his Archdiocese; this existed until 2016.
In 2015, Léonard of the Congregation Servants of Jesus and Mary (SJM) approved the canonical establishment of the Maleizen Monastery in Overijse, Flemish .
April 2015 Léonard was because of its failure to act in a case of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Namur Court of Appeal in Liège to a fine condemned in the amount of 10,000 euros. The amount was paid to the victim of the priest Gilbert Hubermond as compensation.
name suffix
After the canonization of the Belgian school brother Mutien-Marie Wiaux in 1989, André Léonard added his first name "Mutien" to his own out of veneration for this saint. With the appointment as Archbishop Leonard replaced this middle name with "Joseph", since St. Joseph is the patron of Belgium.
Memberships
André-Joseph Léonard is a member of the following institutions of the Roman Curia :
Fonts
- La Foi chez Hegel , Desclée Paris / Tournai 1976
- Jesus and your body: the sexual morality explained for young people. Parvis-Verlag, Hauteville 1995 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-907523-50-4
- Does God answer our prayers? “Ask and you will receive”. Parvis-Verlag, Hauteville 2004, ISBN 3-907525-95-7
- Beyond death. Sankt-Ulrich-Verlag , Augsburg 2008, ISBN 3-86744-049-2
- Winter trip. Sankt-Ulrich-Verlag, Augsburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-86744-095-0
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Belgium: Catholics organize "Family Pride". Vatican Radio , May 5, 2007, accessed March 30, 2018 .
- ^ Gregor Kollmorgen: EF at the Eucharistic Congress ; Article dated July 1st, 2008 with photos of the Tridentine Pontifical Mass celebrated by Bishop Léonard in 2008 at the World Eucharistic Congress in Québec.
- ^ Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo di Malines-Bruxelles (Belgio) e nomina di successore ; Holy See Press Office, Daily Bulletin, January 18, 2010.
- ^ Nomina dell'Ordinario Militare per il Belgio ; Holy See Press Office, Daily Bulletin, February 27, 2010.
- ↑ Personal details . The daily mail , June 5, 2015, accessed on January 20, 2020 .
- ^ Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo di Malines-Bruxelles e Ordinario Militare per il Belgio e nomina del nuovo Arcivescovo e Ordinario Militare. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , November 6, 2015, accessed November 6, 2015 (Italian).
- ↑ a b Belgium: Controversial bishop gets cake in his face ; Spiegel-Online, notification dated November 6, 2010.
- ↑ Belgium: Catholic boss railed against gays and HIV-positive people ; Report on queer.de from October 20, 2010.
- ^ Belgian bishop criticized over Aids remarks ; The Irish Times , October 15, 2010
- ↑ incaelo.wordpress.com: Msgr. Léonard's small mistake? , October 14, 2010
- ↑ Archbishop outraged with statement about the "justice" of AIDS ; Spiegel Online , October 15, 2010
- ↑ Primate of the Catholic Church is the target in cake battle. In: tagesspiegel.de. Retrieved December 22, 2013 .
- ↑ Femen women attack Archbishop . In: Courier . April 24, 2013, accessed December 22, 2013 .
- ↑ Pope dissolves the Society of Holy Apostles. kath.net from April 17, 2018
- ^ Canonical establishment in Belgium . Website of the Servi Jesu et Mariae, March 26, 2015, accessed March 5, 2017
- ↑ Primate of Belgium convicted of abuse . Austrian Broadcasting Corporation , April 24, 2015
- ^ Belgian website about Bishop Léonard with explanations on adding the middle name. (paid article)
- ^ Nomina di Membri del Pontificio Consiglio per la Promozione della Nuova Evangelizzazione ; Holy See Press Office: Daily Bulletin of January 5, 2011.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Léonard, André-Joseph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Léonard, André-Mutien |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian clergyman, archbishop emeritus of Mechlin-Brussels |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jambes , Namur , Belgium |