Godfried Danneels This is Me

Education

 View all 11 references Web References

1. 1. Catholic Online - Featured Today -

   www.catholic.org/featured/head - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/11/2005   Last Visited: 4/12/2005

   Godfried Danneels, 71
   ...
   Godfried Danneels was born June 4, 1933, in Kanegem, in Eastern Flanders. He earned a licentiate in theology at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Louvain in 1954, and in 1961, a doctorate at the Gregorian University of Rome.
   
   In August 1957, he was ordained a priest, and in 1959, he became spiritual director of the major seminary of Bruges. Ten years later he became professor of theology at the Flemish Catholic University of Louvain and in November 1977 he was named bishop of Antwerp by Pope Paul VI. He was ordained a bishop in December 1977.
   
   In 1978 Pope John Paul II designated him a president delegate of the Special Synod for the Netherlands. He was relator of the second general extraordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985).
   
   In December 1979, he was named archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. He was elevated to cardinal in February 1983.

2. 2. NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source

   classifieds.nwanews.com/story. - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/3/2005   Last Visited: 2/26/2006

   Godfried Danneels (Belgium, 71)
   
   A former professor of liturgy at the Catholic University of Louvain, Danneels has a high reputation as both an intellectual and a pastor. Though he has a strong personal vision, he also has a reputation as someone who listens well and builds consensus. He speaks several languages, including Italian and English.
   
   At a 1999 Synod of Bishops, he turned a pessimistic tide that had dominated the early going by insisting there is much of value in contemporary Western culture. He said the Western mind chafes at authoritarianism but still responds to beauty. One could expect reform from a Danneels papacy. He is open to appointing women, for example, to run curial agencies.

3. 3. Who are the possible candidates to be the next Pope? - Newindpress.com

   www.newindpress.com/NewsItems. - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/4/2005   Last Visited: 4/4/2005

   4. Godfried Danneels (Belgian)
   ...
   GODFRIED DANNEELS (BELGIAN), BORN JUNE 4, 1933
   
   Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the jovial 71-year-old archbishop of Brussels, is an outspoken preacher who ranks as the main moderate contender for the papacy. A vote for him would be a vote for changes in the way the Catholic Church is governed.
   
   A key player at recent synods, Danneels has often spoken out on controversial issues such as whether a pope should resign, if condoms can be used in the fight against AIDS and whether women should have a larger role in running the Church.
   
   He has been especially vocal about calling for more collegiality, or power-sharing between the Vatican -- which has centralised much Church decision-making under John Paul -- and bishops around the world.
   
   Views like these could disqualify a candidate, but Danneels is no maverick and argues with such intelligence, optimism and insight into human nature that he cannot be written off easily.
   
   He also has been firm upholding Church teachings when necessary, such as suspending a rebel priest living with a gay partner and running an unorthodox "rent-a-priest" service.
   
   Born in 1933 in western Flanders, Danneels studied in Rome and was a theology professor at the Catholic University of Louvain before being named bishop of Antwerp in 1977.
   
   Two years later, he was appointed archbishop of Brussels and earned his red hat as cardinal in 1983. Apart from his active role in synods, he was also chairman of the Catholic human rights movement Pax Christi International from 1990 to 1997.
   
   In recent years, Danneels urged the Church to scale back the power of the Vatican and focus less on the pope -- remarks he made clear were aimed at a general trend towards centralism rather than any criticism of John Paul as a person.
   
   He also has predicted that future popes would likely abdicate before they died because modern medicine was extending life far longer than before.
   
   "We live too long and people cannot continue to carry that responsibility if they turn 90 or 100. It doesn't matter how well they are looked after," he said.
   
   On the controversial issue of using condoms to fight AIDS, he said he preferred that HIV-positive people abstain from sex.
   
   If they did have sex, not using a condom would mean breaking the sixth commandment "thou shalt not kill." That would take precedence over the Church ban on artificial birth control.
   
   On another touchy subject, Danneels has spoken out in favour of appointing more women in top functions in the Vatican hierarchy. "I don't see why a woman should not be able to run a congregation of the Roman Curia," he said, referring to the departments of the Church government.
   
   Heading the congregation for nuns, for example, or the one for the laity should be open to women, he said.
   
   But the cardinal stopped short of saying women should be allowed to become priests and made a distinction between priesthood -- open only to men -- and the administration.
   
   Danneels, who can spin powerful sermons out of simple phrases and images, is one of the most media-friendly members of the College of Cardinals and gives frequent interviews in his native Dutch or English, French and Italian.
   
   As his own Church's Web site notes: "As a Church leader, he rarely avoids a talk with the media."