The long-awaited announcement of the successor to the retiring Catholic archbishop of Brussels, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, has sparked an unusual outcry in Belgium. The new archbishop, André-Mutien Léonard, is sometimes called “the Belgian Ratzinger” for his conservative views. Danneels ranks as one of the last liberal prelates in a Church hierarchy that has turned increasingly traditional under Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict.
Léonard has beene a controversial figure in Belgium for his critical stands on homosexuality, same-sex marriage and condom use. He has been an outspoken opponent of abortion and euthanasia, both of which are legal in Belgium, and criticised the Catholic universities of Leuven and Louvain for their research into assisted reproduction and embryonic stem ...Deputy Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx, who is the country’s health minister...[said] "Léonard has already regularly challenged decisions made by our parliament.”...
[His] appointment could upset the balance between secular and religious that Belgium has found. ... He is against abortion and euthanasia … The pope’s choice could undermine the compromise that allows us to live together with respect for everyone.”
Oh... respect for everyone except the unborn, the old, the useless, the disabled, the ill.
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