The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, popular in parts of the German Church because of the Belgian bishops’ defence of church blessings for same-sex couples, was awarded an honorary theology doctorate by the University of Bonn on 6 June.
The award came after the Flemish prelate attended the German Church’s synodal path discussions in March.
He explained how back-to-back ad limina visits to the Vatican last autumn won papal acceptance for Belgium’s blessing of same-sex couples while the German bishops could not.
Bonny, 67, has advocated such blessings as a pastoral necessity since 2015. He worked in the then Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1997 to 2008.
“You say out loud what many people have long hoped for and expect from the Church,” said Jochen Sautermeister, head of the theology faculty in Bonn.
“You're not afraid to confront reality and people's real lives wherever they may be.”
In one of several interviews he gave in Flemish-accented German, Bonny stressed the Belgian bishops were not defying the Vatican. But Rome should understand that local mentalities can be different.
Romans value a good impression (bella figura) more than describing reality, while Germanic peoples like the Germans and Flemish put precision first, he told Cologne’s domradio.de.
“Being correct is more important to us than looking good,” he said.
Also, Belgium was a small country that could find a consensus among its eight bishops, while Germany was far larger and had more diversity in opinions.
When the Belgians presented their blessings policy to Pope Francis, he asked twice if they all supported it.
When they said “yes”, he said it was up to them to decide what was needed pastorally.
Bonny stressed terms like “the Vatican” or “Rome” covered a variety of opinions depending on the Catholic institutions involved.
“Rome is not just a document or a cardinal. No, Rome is also unity in diversity.”
“The papacy is not there to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to every question,” he added.
The Pope should create a space “where all differences can meet and live with one another”.
“We speak cum Petro et sub Petro, but not everyone in the Vatican is cum Petro et sub Petro,” the bishop said.