On January 22, the Diocese of Namur in Belgium published an official obituary for Abbé Maurice Léonard, a Catholic priest and dean of Andenne who had died on January 16.
While the diocesan notice described his pastoral ministry and priestly profile, a separate family obituary published on January 21 explicitly mentioned his compagne de vie (“life partner”) and his enfants de cœur (“children of the heart”), according to documentation reported by the French Catholic website Riposte Catholique.
The diocesan obituary described Léonard in the following terms: “A priest of convictions and an engaged man, appreciated for his ability to listen, his measured words, and his attention to people of all generations.”
The diocese presented him as a priest committed to social justice, without any reference to a relationship. By contrast, the obituary notice published by Léonard’s family explicitly named his “partner” and referred to his “children of the heart.” This wording was included without editorial comment and was publicly accessible.
The presence of such references apparently did not prompt any official clarification from diocesan authorities at the time of publication.
This was not an isolated occurrence within the region. Readers of Riposte Catholique provided documentation of a similar case involving another priest from the Andenne area, Abbé Marc Otjacques.
Otjacques died on September 4, 2024, as a result of a bicycle accident while returning from Mass. His death was announced on the diocesan website with a notice that described him as strongly committed “to the poor.” As in the case of Léonard, the diocesan obituary contained no reference to any personal relationship or family.
However, the obituary notice published by Otjacques’ family was signed by “his partner” and his enfants de cœur, using the same language to that found in Léonard’s family notice. These details, again, appeared only in the family announcement and not in the diocesan communication. Both cases occurred within the same geographical area of the Diocese of Namur.
It is now up to the local diocese to determine whether these claims reflect reality – and therefore a violation of canon law – and to verify whether other priests may be contravening it as well.
Concubinage, in canonical terms, refers to a stable, publicly known relationship resembling marriage without its sacramental or legal form. The existence of such a relationship is considered incompatible with the obligations freely assumed at priestly ordination in the Latin Church.
In the Catholic Church, celibacy is regulated primarily by Canon 277 §1, which states:
Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.
Furthermore, Canon 1037 establishes that a candidate for priestly ordination may not be admitted “to the order of diaconate unless they have assumed the obligation of celibacy in the prescribed rite publicly before God and the Church.”
Canon 1395 §1 addresses violations of this obligation. It provides that a cleric who lives in concubinage or persists in another external sin against the Sixth Commandment that causes scandal may be punished with just penalties, including suspension and, “if after a warning he persists in the offence … he can be dismissed from the clerical state.”