His Eminence Godfried Cardinal Danneels (born June 4, 1933) is the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the chairman of the Belgian episcopal conference.

Career

Born in Kanegem , West Flanders, he entered the Grand Seminary of Bruges to become a priest. He was ordained in 1957. He studied Thomistic philosophy at the Higher Institute for Philosophy in Leuven and theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. After obtaining his doctorate in theology, he taught at the Bruges 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.

He was actively involved in writing Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document which initiated the liturgic reform of the second Vatican Council.

In 1977, Danneels was nominated bishop of the Antwerp diocese by Pope Paul VI. Two years later, Pope John Paul II promoted him to archbishop of Belgium. He received the title of cardinal in 1983.

Since 2001, Cardinal Danneels has been a part of the permanent secretariat of the episcopal synod. He is also a member of the Roman 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 had 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.

Danneels has been tipped as a possible future pope (papabile). To many Vatican watchers this seems mere speculation because of several reasons, the main ones being that he is archbishop of a country where abortion, euthanasia and same-sex unions have been legalized recently and that, under his watch, church attendancy and pastoral vocations have dropped to historical lows. But history has shown a conclave often offers surprises. A moderate figure, in the right age bracket, Cardinal Godfried Danneels could be a compromise candidate. Some speculate he would contrast to the orthodox image of John Paul II and predict he would take 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 could also be seen as a diplomatic quality.

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 has 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 has 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 cannot 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 is not what one thinks about it; it is 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 cannot 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 does not 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 should not 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 christianism". 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 fulfill 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".

External links

• Official biography
• Godfried Danneels (Dutch)
• Belgium's Danneels Could Succeed Pope John Paul II (The Guardian, London, Wednesday April 6th 2005)
• Belgian prelate says vocations crisis is wall against church’s future (Catholic News Service publishes about the stands of Cardinal Danneels while taking a glance at main papabili)
• On the occasion of Danneels' visit to P. R. China in late March 2005, BBC reports on China's tense links with Vatican

• Warning - Humourous link : Tempe Arizona's Godfrey Daniels satyrical support page of Cardinal Danneels' alleged candidacy to the Holy See (Note: take a look at the second page, you'll find the autograph of Cardinal Danneels)