Bishop Bonny: Support for LGBTQ+ Blessings Is “Not Going Against the Pope”

The decision earlier this year by the Flemish bishops’ to bless LGBTQ+ couples is “not going against the pope,” one of those bishops has said based on personal conversations with Pope Francis.

Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp was asked in an interview with Katholisch.de about his intervention during the last assembly of Germany’s Synodal Way, during which the bishop claimed the Vatican did not object to the Flemish bishops’ LGBTQ+ initiative last year. Bonny denied that his support since 2014 for such blessings created any conflict of conscience, stating (per Google Translate):

“No, because it is about the Pope. Not every man in Rome is pope. I have personally spoken twice with the Pope on these issues. From my conversations I know what my relationship with Pope Francis looks like – we speak ‘cum petro et sub petro’ [‘with and under Peter’]. But not the whole Vatican is ‘cum petro et sub petro’.

“There are also different positions and developments in the Vatican. The theological faculties in Rome also belong to the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Rome. Rome is not just a document or a cardinal. No, Rome is also unity in diversity.

“Regarding obedience to the Pope: none of us want to be disobedient to the Pope. That would be the last thing I want. That’s why I had two conversations with the Pope. Those were personal conversations. I will not say publicly what and how he said anything, but I know that I and we are not going against the Pope . This is very important for me and for the other bishops in Flanders.”

Bonny also responded to a question about why the Flemish bishops faced no Vatican objections, while Germany’s Synodal Way had led to multiple interventions from Rome, saying:

“We [the Belgians] are a small Bishops’ Conference. We are only eight diocesan bishops. That’s less. And on these issues we are in complete agreement among ourselves. We speak with one voice. There are no divisions or subgroups on this subject. The Pope also asked in Rome whether we all agree. And we said yes. Sure, we always have slightly different opinions, but we basically agree. That’s why we only wanted to write one text and not eight different ones. . .

“But here is what is very important to me and what I would like to help with: This tension between Germany and Rome is not helpful. Also in Rome they should listen better to some parts [of the church] and not be so critical. That doesn’t help anyone. There are more prejudices than judgments in this discussion.”

Beyond blessings, Bonny called for a “solution to the issue of homosexuality” because even at the Vatican they know “things can’t stay like this.” However, the bishop acknowledged a need to handle the question differently in different local churches:

“If we want to be a missionary church that brings the Good News of Jesus to the fore in a new way here in the West, then we should also find a solution to the issue of homosexuality.

“It’s not like that in Africa – not yet – and it’s not like that in Asia either. It will certainly happen, but a solution to this question should be found here that is based on human science and the Bible, as well as on moral theology and pastoral considerations.

“The Pope knows that too. He must be shepherd or father of all. We understand. He doesn’t always have to say yes or no to every question. The papacy is not there to say yes or no to every question like in the Middle Ages, but to be a good shepherd, a good father for the whole community, to keep the community together. It is a ministry of unity in the church, unity in diversity. He should keep the family together. . .

“In a family, for parents and grandparents, it is their children and grandchildren who want to hold them together. However, you cannot answer all questions with yes or no. But you can set up your house, your table, and your kitchen so that everyone is welcome and can talk to each other in your home. This is unity ministry.”

Finally, Bonny concluded by expressing hope for the wider Synod on Synodality, remarking:

“I also have a few questions as to how [the church] could find ways for further development on the basis of this difference. And especially how to support the jurisdiction of bishops again. Eeverything that went up from the bishops and their congregations should come down again. Then the bishops have to find the best solutions with their congregations. It should end where it started.”

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, May 30, 2023