Johan Bonny
Encyclopedia
Johan Jozef Bonny is the 22nd Bishop
of Antwerpen, Belgium
.
(Gistel
) in 1955. He is the oldest of five children from a farmer's family. He is the son of Gustaaf Bonny and Marie-Jeanne Lootens. He went through primary school in Eernegem
and Moere
. He took the lower secondary education at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Gistel College and higher secondary education at Sint-Janscollege in Meldert. After his school in 1973 he went to the Major Seminary of Bruges.
Emiel-Jozef De Smedt, then Bishop of Bruges. Bonny helped founding the community of l'Arche
in Moerkerke
and remained attached to it as a priest.
In 1982 he obtained a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University
in Rome
. Then Msgr. De Smedt appointed him archivist and professor to the Major Seminary of Bruges, where he taught Church History, Dogmatic theology
, Ecumenism
and spirituality. At the same time, he worked with the renowned expert in Christian mystics Albert de Blaere. He defended in 1988 a doctorate on the Flemish mystic John of Ruysbroeck, entitled "Het ghemeyne leven in de werken van Jan van Ruusbroec" (The "ghemeyne leven" in the works of John of Ruysbroeck). In 1985 Msgr. Roger Vangheluwe
appointed him director of the department of theology and, in 1991, spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Bruges .
Johan Bonny moved in 1997 to Rome with two new appointments. Firstly, on June 5, he was appointed collaborator to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
. Johan Bonny was responsible for ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, mainly in the Middle East. He took part in theological dialogue with the Orthodox church, with the Eastern Orthodox church
es (including the Coptic, Syrian, Armenian and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) and the Assyrian Church of the East
. He also kept the relationship between the Council and a number of communities or movements, such as Taizé
and L'Arche
. Secondly, Cardinal Godfried Danneels and the Belgian bishops appointed him rector of the Belgian Papal College in Rome in succession to Msgr. Werner Quintens.
On 9 January 2002 he was appointed Chaplain
of His Holiness by Pope John Paul II
.
appointed Bishop Bonny the 22nd bishop of the Diocese of Antwerp. His bishop's motto is The Lamb will be their shepherd . On 4 January 2009, Johan Bonny was enthroned to bishop of the Diocese of Antwerp in the Antwerp's Our Lady Cathedral by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Bishop Paul Van den Berghe
and Bishop Roger Vangheluwe
in presence of various religious and civil dignitaries, including Cardinal Walter Kasper, Archbishop Wim Eijk
and Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard
.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Antwerpen, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Biography
Johan Bonny was born in MoereMoere
Moere is a small village located within the municipality of Gistel in West-Flanders, Belgium. The village gained some fame when American singer Marvin Gaye moved there for several months in the early 1980s...
(Gistel
Gistel
Gistel is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Gistel proper and the towns of Moere, Snaaskerke and Zevekote. On January 1, 2006 Gistel had a total population of 11,125. The total area is 42.25 km² which gives a population...
) in 1955. He is the oldest of five children from a farmer's family. He is the son of Gustaaf Bonny and Marie-Jeanne Lootens. He went through primary school in Eernegem
Eernegem
Eernegem is a town in Ichtegem, a part of Belgium.See also: West Flanders...
and Moere
Moere
Moere is a small village located within the municipality of Gistel in West-Flanders, Belgium. The village gained some fame when American singer Marvin Gaye moved there for several months in the early 1980s...
. He took the lower secondary education at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Gistel College and higher secondary education at Sint-Janscollege in Meldert. After his school in 1973 he went to the Major Seminary of Bruges.
Priest
On 20 July 1980, he was ordained priest by Msgr.Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Emiel-Jozef De Smedt, then Bishop of Bruges. Bonny helped founding the community of l'Arche
L'Arche
L'Arche is an International Federation dedicated to the creation and growth of homes, programs, and support networks with people who have intellectual disabilities...
in Moerkerke
Moerkerke
Moerkerke is a town in the Belgian province West Flanders and a part of the city of Damme-External links:*...
and remained attached to it as a priest.
In 1982 he obtained a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Then Msgr. De Smedt appointed him archivist and professor to the Major Seminary of Bruges, where he taught Church History, Dogmatic theology
Dogmatic theology
Dogmatic theology is that part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and his works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Dutch Reformed Church, etc...
, Ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
and spirituality. At the same time, he worked with the renowned expert in Christian mystics Albert de Blaere. He defended in 1988 a doctorate on the Flemish mystic John of Ruysbroeck, entitled "Het ghemeyne leven in de werken van Jan van Ruusbroec" (The "ghemeyne leven" in the works of John of Ruysbroeck). In 1985 Msgr. Roger Vangheluwe
Roger Vangheluwe
Roger Joseph Vangheluwe is the former Bishop of Bruges. He gained notoriety after admitting to having sexually abused two nephews over the course of a 15-year period while serving first as a priest and then as bishop, though the admission came after the statute of limitations for the crimes had...
appointed him director of the department of theology and, in 1991, spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Bruges .
Johan Bonny moved in 1997 to Rome with two new appointments. Firstly, on June 5, he was appointed collaborator to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962–1965.Pope John XXIII wanted the Catholic Church to engage in the contemporary ecumenical movement...
. Johan Bonny was responsible for ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, mainly in the Middle East. He took part in theological dialogue with the Orthodox church, with the Eastern Orthodox church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
es (including the Coptic, Syrian, Armenian and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) and the Assyrian Church of the East
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
. He also kept the relationship between the Council and a number of communities or movements, such as Taizé
Taizé
Taizé is the name or part of the name of several places in France and an asteroid:* Taizé Community in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, a monastic order visited by many young people* Taizé, Saône-et-Loire in the Saône-et-Loire département...
and L'Arche
L'Arche
L'Arche is an International Federation dedicated to the creation and growth of homes, programs, and support networks with people who have intellectual disabilities...
. Secondly, Cardinal Godfried Danneels and the Belgian bishops appointed him rector of the Belgian Papal College in Rome in succession to Msgr. Werner Quintens.
On 9 January 2002 he was appointed Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of His Holiness by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
Bishop
On 28 October 2008 Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
appointed Bishop Bonny the 22nd bishop of the Diocese of Antwerp. His bishop's motto is The Lamb will be their shepherd . On 4 January 2009, Johan Bonny was enthroned to bishop of the Diocese of Antwerp in the Antwerp's Our Lady Cathedral by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Bishop Paul Van den Berghe
Paul Van den Berghe
Paul Van den Berghe is a Belgium Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.Van den Berghe's obtained a degree in Thomist philosophy and was ordained a priest on June 15, 1957...
and Bishop Roger Vangheluwe
Roger Vangheluwe
Roger Joseph Vangheluwe is the former Bishop of Bruges. He gained notoriety after admitting to having sexually abused two nephews over the course of a 15-year period while serving first as a priest and then as bishop, though the admission came after the statute of limitations for the crimes had...
in presence of various religious and civil dignitaries, including Cardinal Walter Kasper, Archbishop Wim Eijk
Wim Eijk
Willem Jacobus "Wim" Eijk is a Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. On 11 December 2007 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Eijk the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht and, on the 26 January 2008 Eijk was installed in the Sint Catharina Church in Utrecht. He is the 70th successor of Saint...
and Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard
André-Joseph Léonard
André-Joseph Léonard is a Belgian prelate, the current archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and thus Primate of Belgium since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 January 2010. He had previously served as bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 as André-Mutien Léonard.- Early life :Léonard was born...
.
External links
)|year=2008|work=Kerknet - De website van de kerk in Vlaanderen|language=Dutch|accessdate=2009-01-03}}- Johan Bonny on www.catholic-hierarchy.org
- Progress in Dialogue Between Holy See and Greek Orthodox Church, interview with E.H. Johan Bonny, April 2003
- Report of The Fourth Meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Rome, 28 January tot 3 February 2007