Readers of this magazine will be familiar with the figure of the retired Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, who served the diocese of Malines-Brussels for five years until very recently. Léonard inherited the charge from the controversial Cardinal Danneels, and though he only had five years in post, he made a considerable contribution in a diocese where the Church is in an advanced state of decay. This article here is worth reading, and tells us that Léonard’s term of office saw an astonishing jump in the number of seminarians, which is always a sign of the success or otherwise of a bishop’s ministry. The Church Militant article draws upon an interview that Archbishop Léonard recently gave to the French Catholic magazine Famille Chrétienne, which is only available in French, but is well worth reading if you can, for it reflects the wisdom and courage of this great Archbishop. Here is a little bit of it that I found of great interest, which deals with the question of terrorism. I reproduce the original French, and follow it with my schoolboy translation:
11:45 AM
After France's year of terror, is this just the beginning?
We must seriously look at how Muslims interpret the Koran, Archbishop Léonard has said
Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith

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