The Cathnews
October 18, 2010
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23811
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A storm of protest and disbelief is blowing across Belgium once again. This time the eye of the storm is Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard (pictured), the 70-year-old successor to Cardinal Godfried Danneels as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.
In a new book, Gesprekken met Monseigneur Léonard, (Conversations with Archbishop Léonard), recently published by the Belgian publisher Lannoo, the archbishop asserts that the world-wide AIDS epidemic is a matter of "immanent justice", reports the National Catholic Reporter.
Especially in the Belgian political world the protest against Léonard is strong and trenchant. "Repugnant" and "stupid" were the reactions from key members of the Flemish parliament. Eva Brems, from the Green party, has called her colleagues to support a parliamentary resolution that "the disgusting statements of Archbishop Léonard be condemned in no uncertain terms."
Other parliamentarians are calling for a re-examination of the legal tax status of the Belgian Catholic Church. Wouter Beke, chairperson of the Christian Democrat Party (CD&V), says he is strongly offended by Archbishop Léonard's position.
"This statement [by Léonard} is very far from the Christian charity that Father Damian and so many others have been trying to live out," he said.
Beke's more conservative Christian colleague, Mia De Schamphelaere, is equally outspoken: Léonard's words, she said "strike me speechless. For Jesus there were no justified illnesses."
In the Belgian church as well, Léonard's recent statements have created anger and disbelief. Sr Monica Van Kerrebroeck, former member of the Flemish Parliament for the Christian Democrats, expresses the consternation of many. "I just can't go along with this," she said in an interview.
"This statement from Léonard comes on hard and runs against my feelings. God is not a punishing God but a God of love."
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