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André-Joseph Léonard

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André-Joseph Léonard
Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseMechelen-Brussels
DioceseMechelen-Brussels
SeeSt. Rumbold's Cathedral, St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral
PredecessorGodfried Danneels
Successorincumbent
Other post(s)Primate of Belgium
Orders
Ordination19 July 1964
Consecration14 April 1991
Personal details
Born
André Léonard

(1940-05-06) 6 May 1940 (age 84)
Jambes
NationalityBelgian
OccupationPhilosopher, theologian
Alma materUniversité catholique de Louvain
SignatureAndré-Joseph Léonard's signature

André-Joseph Léonard (born André Léonard, (1940-05-06)6 May 1940) is a Belgian prelate, the current archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and thus Primate of Belgium since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 January 2010. He had previously served as bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 as André-Mutien Léonard.

Early life

Léonard was born on 6 May 1940 in Jambes, close to Namur. His father died shortly after his birth during the first days of the German invasion of Belgium. He is one of four brothers who all became diocesan priests. After his secondary education at the Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur, Mons. André-Marie Charue, Bishop of Namur sent Léonard to the Seminary Leo XIII in Leuven, where he earned a master's degree in Philosophy.

Academic career

He continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Belgian College, where he graduated in theology. He was ordained priest on 19 July 1964 by Bishop Charue. He went to Rome, where he earned a license in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

In 1974 he obtained a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain, with a thesis entitled “A literal commentary on the logic of Hegel”. He taught in the philosophy department of Louvain until 1991. In the late 1980s he became a member of the International Theological Commission, the consultative organ of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Episcopal career

He was appointed bishop of Namur on 7 February 1991 and was consecrated on April 14 [1] of that year by Cardinal Godfried Danneels. He has been described as a man whose theological vision is in line with Pope Benedict XVI's. Of Belgium’s 71 seminarians, 35 come from his diocese. Léonard is considered to be the most traditional bishop in Belgium.

When named a bishop, he added the name "Mutien" to his first name André in reference to Brother Mutien-Marie Wiaux.

Bishop Leonard preached the 1999 Lenten retreat for Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia.[2][3]

Bishop Leonard is known to be friendly to the Traditional Latin/Tridentine Mass and frequently celebrates it.[4]

On 18 January 2010, in line with earlier reports, he was appointed Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels,[5] replacing the retiring Cardinal Danneels, considered one of the most liberal bishops in Europe.[6] Archbishop Leonard had been informed of his appointment on Tuesday 12 January.

When named archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, he choose to drop "Mutien" and instead appended "Joseph" to his name, in reference to Saint Joseph, patron saint of Belgium[7].

In respose to his appointment, Deputy Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx, who is also the country’s health minister, said, “Church and State are separate in Belgium, but when there are problems in our society, all the social partners sit down around a table, including representatives of secularism and of religion. Cardinal Danneels was a man of openness, of tolerance and was able to fit in there. Archbishop Léonard has already regularly challenged decisions made by our parliament.” She added: “Concerning AIDS, he’s against the use of condoms even while people are dying from it every day. He is against abortion and euthanasia … The pope’s choice could undermine the compromise that allows us to live together with respect for everyone.”

The Socialist Party said it “insists that Archbishop Léonard respects democratic decisions taken by the institutions of our country. For the Socialist Party, the rights and duties that people take on democratically take precedence over religious traditions and commandments, without any exception.” [8].

In June 2010 a spokesman for the Brussels prosecutors' office confirmed that the palace of the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels had been sealed off. Brussels prosecutors were looking for material relating to allegations of sex abuse, a spokesman for the prosecutors' office said. Archbishop Leonard said the move showed that the Church wanted to "resolutely turn a page on a very painful" topic. [9]

Pope Benedict in a letter addressed to Archbishop Leonard said that: "At this sad moment, I express my special closeness and solidarity to you, dear Brother Bishops, and all the bishops of the Church in Belgium, the surprising and deplorable manner in which searches were conducted in the Cathedral of Malines and See where he met the Belgian episcopate in a plenary session that, among other things, would treat issues relating to abuse of minors by clergy members. I myself have repeatedly stressed that this Ordinance be treated without serious civil and canon law, while respecting mutual specificity and autonomy. Thus I hope that justice take its course, to guarantee fundamental rights of individuals and institutions, while respecting the victims, without preconditions, in recognition of those committed to work with it and rejection of everything that obscures the noble tasks assigned to it."MESSAGGIO DEL SANTO PADRE A S.E. MONS. ANDRÉ-JOSEPH LÉONARD, ARCIVESCOVO DI MALINES-BRUXELLES, PRESIDENTE DELLA CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE DEL BELGIO</ref>

Positions on moral and political issues

Belgian political crisis of 2007-08

In 2007, Belgium was facing one of the longest and most intense political crises in its 178 years of existence. After the Belgian general election of 2007, Belgium entered a period of communitarian tensions and political instability, mostly caused by the different opinions about the need and the extent of a state reform.

In 9 July 2008, Bishop Léonard published an open letter on the website of the Diocese of Namur entitled The end of Belgium? (Template:Lang-fr) [10]. He wrote that Belgium will not fall apart:

I hear questions about the future of this country. Will it burst soon? Frankly, I think not. Realism requires us to stay together, Flemings, Walloons and inhabitants of Brussels. If we have months to negotiate the formation of a government, how long would it take to resolve issues raised by a division of the country: the status of Brussels, the fate of the monarchy, not to mention the innumerable problems legal and tax. We will stay together. Despite our cultural differences, we still have many things in common. Political conflicts are sometimes acute. But when French and Dutch meet on friendly terms, school or business, things happen very often. But what is likely is that the Belgian government will federalize more. It's just what we are already living very peacefully, in terms of the life of the Church. We are one Episcopal Conference, in a beautiful fraternal harmony, but each language group has its own meetings and its specific guidelines.

Bishop Léonard asked Walloons and French-speaking inhabitants of Brussels to renounce their superiority complex of the French language against Dutch-speaking Belgians. Bishop Léonard himself is a proficient speaker of Dutch.

If then the French-speaking Belgians, naturally more attached to a united Belgium than the Flemish, want (..) that Belgium continues, it is not enough that they fly the Belgian flag in the streets. They must renounce any linguistic superiority complex. They must learn, each according to his social role, to know and to love language and culture of their northern neighbors.

The letter was published the same month in the Dutch Catholic magazine Katholiek Nieuwsblad [11].

Bio-ethics

Homosexuality

In an April 2007 interview for the weekly Télé Moustique, Léonard was asked about his position on homosexuality and described homosexual behaviour as “abnormal”.[12][13][14]

The same as Freud: it is an imperfectly developed stage of human sexuality which contradicts its inner logic. Homosexuals have encountered a blockage in their normal psychological development, rendering them abnormal. I know that in a few years, I will risk prison by saying this, but it could offer me vacations.

La même que Freud: c’est un stade imparfaitement développé de la sexualité humaine qui contredit sa logique intérieure. Les homosexuels ont rencontré un blocage dans leur développement psychologique normal, ce qui les rend anormaux. Je sais bien que dans quelques années, je risquerai la prison en affirmant cela, mais ça pourrait m’offrir un peu de congés.

— André-Mutien Léonard [12]

As a consequence, he was charged with homophobia under the pretext of the Belgium's 2003 Anti-Discrimination Act, after gay activists have said he sought to “stigmatize” homosexuals. Due to the criticisms that followed his interview, Bishop Léonard quickly clarified that it is their behaviour that is abnormal, not their very person.

In April 2009, the Belgian courts ruled that Bishop's comments were not severe enough to be considered slander or discrimination[15].

"Homosexuality is not the same as normal sex in the same way that anorexia is not a normal appetite," says the new Archbishop of Brussels. Shortly after his appointment Archbishop Léonard's comments were made in an interview with a Belgian television station. He added that he would "never call anorexia patients abnormal." [16]

Works

Notes

  1. ^ Bishop André-Mutien Léonard
  2. ^ http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1999/february/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_27021999_end-exercises_en.html
  3. ^ Aprés Daneels, Muscle for Brussels
  4. ^ EF at the Eucharistic Congress
  5. ^ Press Office of the Holy See
  6. ^ Liberal Belgian Archbishop Likely to be Replaced by Orthodox "Conservative"
  7. ^ Mgr Léonard explains his choice of names
  8. ^ New Catholic archbishop of Brussels raises hackles in Belgium
  9. ^ Belgian Catholic offices raided in sex abuse probe
  10. ^ Léonard, André-Mutien (2008), La fin de la Belgique? (in French), Namur{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ Einde België?, Katholiek Nieuwsblad, 18 juli 2008
  12. ^ a b Léonard, André-Mutien, L'Eglise et les Belges (in French), Télé Moustique, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-16
  13. ^ Belgian bishop faces charges of homophobia
  14. ^ Télé Moustique (2007), Le débat continue: voici les extraits audios de l'interview de Monseigneur Léonard
  15. ^ Murphy, Jenny (2008-06-06). "Belgian Bishop Cleared of Anti-Homosexual 'crime'". Catholic.org. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
  16. ^ [1]

References


Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Namur
7 February 1991 – 18 January 2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
18 January 2010 – present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Primate of Belgium
18 January 2010 – present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Ordinary of military ordinariate of Belgium
27 February 2010 – present 		Succeeded by
incumbent


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