Posted on 05/23/2023 6:34:07 PM PDT by ebb tide
The notably heterodox Bishop Johan Bonny has doubled down on his claim that Pope Francis approves of Belgium’s bishop same-sex “blessings,” echoing previous comments he has made in recent months.
In a recent interview published on Katolisch.de — the the official website of the German bishops — Bonny answered questions regarding his support for same-sex “blessings” — a position that puts him in direct opposition to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the Catholic Faith.
READ: Cardinal Müller: Belgian bishops’ homosexual ‘blessings’ are ‘heresy and schism’
Rebuffing any criticisms of his position opposing the Vatican’s teaching, Bonny stated that the question was “about the Pope.”
“Not every man in Rome is the Pope. I have personally spoken twice with the Pope on these issues,” he said. “From my conversations I know what my relationship with Pope Francis looks like – we speak ‘cum petro et sub petro’. But not the whole Vatican is ‘cum petro et sub petro’.”
Continuing, Bonny hinted at discord within the Vatican on the issue of same-sex “blessings”:
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.
At this point, he reissued his statement regarding Pope Francis’ support for same-sex “blessings,” after Bonny and his fellow Belgian bishops became the first group of Catholic bishops to produce guidelines for such practices.
Citing “personal conversations” with Pope Francis, Bonny stated he would “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 had made a similar statement in September last year, when he claimed that the Pope supported the Belgian bishops’ same-sex “blessings” guidelines. “And I know that our guidelines for the blessing of homosexual couples, which we recently published, are in line with Pope Francis,” he said, adding that this was important to him “because communion with the Pope is sacred to me.”
READ: Belgian bishop claims Pope Francis approves of blessing ceremony for homosexual couples
He continued:
It is the personal responsibility that the Pope has given us bishops and that he also supports. However, the same topics do not have to and cannot be discussed worldwide at all times. Moreover, the Pope does not have to write everything down on paper. Just as I as a bishop do not record every conversation on paper.
Following the Belgian bishops’ ad limina visit to Rome in November 2022, LifeSiteNews contacted the Belgium bishops’ conference asking if the bishops had received any criticism for their document supporting same-sex “blessings” during their visit, since Cardinal Jozef De Kesel’s comments made it appear that they had not. A spokesman replied that the document was merely about “accompaniment and within it the opportunity to pray together.”
Bonny himself gave a key intervention in the German Synodal Way’s vote to move forward with same-sex “blessings.” The heterodox participants of the Synodal Way highlighted how Pope Francis had taken no action against the Belgian bishops for their promotion of same-sex “blessings.”
Speaking in Frankfurt, Bonny said that Francis had neither approved nor disproved of their Belgian text, but instead said it was a matter of pastoral concern for the local bishops to decide. “We did, from a pastoral point of view, what we are supposed to do,” said Bonny of the same-sex “blessings” document.
READ: ‘Sins against Christ’: Cdls. Burke, Müller slam German bishops’ approval of same-sex ‘blessings’
The fallout over the German Synodal Way’s various votes has been of more significance than the notable silence from the Vatican that followed the Flemish bishops’ heterodoxy. But in his recent interview, Bonny condemned the Vatican for its response:
This tension between Germany and Rome is not helpful. Also in Rome they should listen better somewhere and not be so critical. That doesn’t help anyone. There are more prejudices than judgments in this discussion. There are more prejudices, personal injuries, personal stories from the German bishops and cardinals in Rome. This is a mixture of their personal experiences and personal hurts with theological issues and theological diversity.
Expanding on his personal support for same-sex “blessings,” Bonny also hinted at future change coming from Rome:
And they know that in Rome too, that things can’t stay like this. 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.
Expanding on his personal support for same-sex “blessings,” Bonny also hinted at future change coming from Rome:
And they know that in Rome too, that things can’t stay like this. 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.
Ping
In our hearts, we know that Bonny is telling the truth. Of course, Bergoglio is on board with all of the LGBT stuff. He wouldn’t be promoting the Martins and McElroys of the world if he wasn’t. We know he lets his freak flag fly when he’s off the record with his cronies. Just as we knew that 100-year-old commie journalist who used to meet up with Bergoglio was telling the truth.
ANTI pope. Pure evil, sitting on the throne.
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