Everything about Godfried Danneels totally explained
Godfried Maria Jules Cardinal Danneels (born
June 4 1933) is a
Belgian Cardinal of the
Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the
Archbishop of Brussels-Mechelen and the
chairman of the
episcopal conference of his native country. He was elevated to the
cardinalate in
1983.
Biography
Born in
Kanegem, Tielt,
West Flanders, he was the eldest of six siblings. Danneels entered the Grand
Seminary of
Bruges to become a
priest. He was
ordained on
August 17,
1957 by
Emiel-Jozef De Smedt,
Bishop of Brugge. He studied
Thomistic philosophy at the
Higher Institute of Philosophy in
Leuven and
theology at the
Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome. After obtaining his
doctorate in theology, he taught at the Brugges seminary and at the
Catholic University of Leuven.
As a scholar, he carried out a profound study of the
liturgy. The articles he wrote for the
Dictionary of the Liturgy have made him famous throughout the Catholic world. Danneels was actively involved in writing
Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document which initiated the
liturgical reform of the
Second Vatican Council.
On
November 4,
1977, Danneels was named
Bishop of Antwerp by
Pope Paul VI. He received his
episcopal consecration on the following
December 18 from
Leo Cardinal Suenens. Danneels was promoted to the
Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussel on
December 19,
1979, and thus the
Primate of Belgium and the Bishop of the nation's
Catholic military ordinariate.
Cardinal
He was created
Cardinal Priest of
Santa Anastasia by
Pope John Paul II in the
consistory of
February 2,
1983.
Since
2001, Cardinal Danneels has been a part of the permanent secretariat of the episcopal
synod. He is also a member of the
Curial Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and of the
Congregation for the Clergy. Between
1990 and
1999, he was international chairman for
Pax Christi.
Danneels was awarded honorary doctorates by
Georgetown University and the
Catholic University of Tilburg.
In
1996, he underwent a major heart operation.
Perhaps his most difficult moment came in
1998, when a court found that the Belgian Catholic Church had failed to protect the victims of a
paedophile priest. Danneels voluntarily testified in court, but denied he'd known anything about the abuse. It was the first time ever that a cardinal appeared before a secular court in Belgium.
In
2003, he was voted the "most remarkable personality of the year" by Flemish television viewers.
Papal Conclave of 2005
Danneels' name was mentioned often as a possible future pope (
papabile) upon the death of
Pope John Paul II in
2005. To many
Vatican watchers this seemed mere speculation because of several reasons, the main ones being that he's archbishop of a country where
abortion,
euthanasia and
same-sex unions have been legalized recently and that, under his watch, church attendance and pastoral vocations have dropped to historical lows. Some in the media thought that by portraying the liberal Cardinal Danneels as a moderate, he could have been a compromise candidate. He would have been a liberal contrast to the orthodox image of John Paul II, taking a new stand on condom use, re-marriage and democratization in the Church. He is very accessible to the media and generally considered a good communicator, although his message is often ambivalent and not very clear (see below). Some consider this stems from his desire to spare sensibilities and steer a middle course, while others see this as a lack of steadfastness. On the other hand, this has also been seen as a diplomatic quality. But one wonders whether such a diplomatic approach can successful propagate the faith.
Although the
2005 papal conclave ultimately selected
Pope Benedict XVI, Danneels did participate as a
cardinal elector.
Views on controversial issues
Danneels' episcopal motto,
Apparuit humanitas Dei nostri (
Titus 3, 4), shows his attachment to a Christian humanism. He is seen as one of the leaders of the "reformist party" within the Church. For instance, he's said that, although
abstinence is preferable,
condoms are acceptable as a means of preventing
AIDS. In an interview with the Dutch Catholic broadcaster RKK, he said: "When someone is
HIV positive and his partner says 'I want to have sexual relations with you', he doesn't have to do that, if you ask me. But, when he does, he's to use a condom, because otherwise he adds to a sin against the sixth commandment (thou shalt not commit adultery) a sin against the fifth (thou shalt not kill)." He added: "This comes down to protecting yourself in a preventive manner against a disease or death. It can't be entirely morally judged in the same manner as a pure method of
birth control."
When asked what he thought of
homosexuality, Danneels answered: "The question isn't what one thinks about it; it's simply a fact. To be homosexual is a natural disposition, just as being heterosexual. One chooses neither one nor the other. The question is rather: 'What do I do with it?' I know excellent priests who are homosexuals; I also know excellent priests who are heterosexuals. Celibates are not 'nothing' — that is, 'neuter.' We are always one or the other. But it can't be denied that homosexuals are deprived of certain dimensions of existence: the distinction between man and woman, between parents and children. This clearly distinguishes them from heterosexuals. But this is no reason for excluding them..." In
2004, he distanced himself from remarks made by another Belgian cardinal,
Gustaaf Joos, who had claimed that in his pastoral experience, a majority of people who call themselves homosexuals are actually sexual perverts. However, in
1999, he suspended a gay priest who lived together with his partner. After a law was passed by the Belgian parliament legalizing
same-sex marriages in
2003, the Belgian episcopal conference maintained its position that a union of two people of the same sex doesn't constitute a proper marriage. The cardinal has also remained vague on the question whether or not homosexual
practices are illicit.
Danneels favours a greater role for
women in the Church. In a
2003 interview, he said: "Today the actual power structure in the Church is male, but it shouldn't have to be that way. It is just that government in the church has long been closely linked with the priesthood. But I think that priest structure and power structure in principle don’t need to be one and the same. Both my
vicars are women, and I see no reason why a woman shouldn't head a
Roman congregation." However, Danneels never questioned the Vatican's position on female priests.
Also in
2003, he exposed his views on the future organisation of the
Church in an interview with
De Standaard, a
Flemish newspaper: "The biggest challenge for the next pope will be to maintain unity in the phenomenal diversity of the Church. I don't think a high degree of centralisation is still opportune. There was no such centralisation during the first thousand years of the Church's existence. It developed during the second millennium, following political centralisation. At the beginning of the third millennium, this centralisation is no longer necessary — but what this means in practice, remains to be seen."
In
September 2004, Danneels made another headline-grabbing statement, this time on
Islam: "In a unified Europe, Islam can have a place only if it goes through a kind of
French Revolution, just like
Christianity". He thereby meant that Islam has to recognize the separation between Church and State and become more tolerant. In his
Christmas homily that same year, he spoke in support of a factory manager who had received death threats for employing a Muslim woman and allowing her to wear a
head scarf at work.
He has also called for a debate on limiting the papal term; he even suggested that popes should step down if they become too frail to fulfil their duties. Nevertheless, after the death of
Pope John Paul II, he declared that the pope, in his suffering, had "led by example" and demonstrated his "deep humanity".
Cardinal Danneels, whose mothertongue is
Dutch, also speaks
English,
French,
German, and
Italian.
In
2005 he also led the funeral service of
Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg.
Grote Jongens Huilen Niet
To mark his golden jubilee of priesthood (celebrated in August 2007) Cardinals Danneels took part in an interview entitled
Grote Jongens Huilen Niet ("Big Boys Don't Cry") with Belgian journalist Peter-Jan Bogaert.
In it Cardinal Danneels when asked about his priestly ordaination says "
It was in the church of Kanegem, there was a feast that day in the village where I was born. Not for me, but for the new town hall, right across from the church, that was being inaugurated that same day. The festivities were disturbed by a terrible thunderstorm, a typical August storm. I presume it wasn't symbolic".
When asked about his
celibacy he says that "
In itself it isn't difficult to remain true. Not when your ideal, your life plan, is clear. If you put God absolutely above yourself and others. Those vows are symbolic. You are really saying that your life for Christ is worth more than money, passion, getting married, children, or power. It becomes more difficult when your ideal fades, when the inner vitality and dynamics are not there anymore", the interview continued with Bogaert asking how he was informed of his appointment as bishop of Antwerp, he answered:"
I was called into the nuncio’s office, the representative of the Catholic Church in Belgium, and was asked to become bishop. You can ask for a little time to consider, but much time isn’t needed. You know then what you've to do".
When asked that question Does celibacy add extra value for you personally? the cardinal replied by saying that, "
It is the expression of your putting God above everything. That you can dedicate yourself totally to him. That is a point of principle. There is also a practical element. Because by being celibate you've much more time to dedicate to your pastoral task."
The cardinal was then asked if he sympathised with priests who have problems with celibacy?, he responded by saying that, "
I know it isn’t necessarily bad intentions. It is hard to imagine, when you're 24, how you'll feel when you're 40. But when your life’s project is clear enough, that nothing is too difficult. That is why a crisis of celibacy in priests often has to do with the crumbling away of their own faith. (pause). And there exists something like a midlife crisis. Why would we [beable to] escape that?"
(External Link
)
Bogaert then asked Danneels if he could
think of circumstances in which you couldn't remain faithful to the pope?. The reply was that "
the obedience to the pope implicates also the frankness to say what you're thinking. And he's happy with that. Inside the church there's room for dialogue, more than you'd think. I feel confident in that, and that's the reason I confide in him from time too time. Or ask: is that really necessary? Especially this pope, Benedict XVI, will respond to that. It is easy to have a conversation with him, man to man. But when he, after thinking it over, says that he wants to do things a certain way, than I accept that. Often I realise afterwards that he's right, that he's made me see things in a different way. It is therefore certainly not blind obedience."
When asked if there will ever be
women priests he answered "
that is a very important point, and one that touches the essence of the church. I’m not so sure there will ever be female priests within the Catholic Church. Not now, and also not in 50 or 100 years. In other Christian churches it's possible – and I don’t deny that there are good female priests there - but it remains, also in those churches, a big point of contention. There are many arguments one can give for that, and I know it isn't explainable in our society, but yet I sense that it isn’t possible. But that isn’t the biggest problem in the church today".
Trivia
- He drives a Volkswagen but doesn't have a driver for the car as most cardinals would.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Godfried Danneels'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://godfried_danneels.totallyexplained.com">Godfried Danneels Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
