that universal respect, no matter one's sexual orientation, "is a value that the Gospel shares with modern culture." Pope Francis made De Kesel a cardinal in the consistory of 19 November 2016. On 23 December 2017 Pope Francis appointed De Kesel a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. He was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture on 11 November 2019. In 2022, together with other bishops of Flanders, he publishes a document on the blessing of homosexual unions, underlining however that this blessing is not to be understood as a different form of marriage that remains a sacrament reserved for the union between man and woman. This provision was made despite the Responsum published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2021 and approved by the pope in which it is declared that it is not possible to bless that type of unions. Ordinations Lode Aerts; bishop of Bruges Lode Van Hecke; bishop of Ghent References External links 1947 births Living people Clergy from Ghent Bishops of Bruges 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Belgium Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Belgian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis Belgian Roman Catholic archbishops