Characteristics

•  Conferences, debates and panel discussions
•  Moments of friendship, encounter, and prayer
•  Visit of the Parlementarium in Brussels and the abbey of Rochefort
•  A concert en trio with Sigiswald Kuijken and a reflection upon art, and an evening with film and intercultural exchange

Topics

•  First day: Challenges of Modern Times
•  Second day: Europe and Christianity
•  Third day: Ethics and Modernity
•  Forth day: Does Modern Man Need God?

Guest speakers

•  Emanualle Dancourt, journalist
•  Father Thomas Joachim, prior general of the Brothers of Saint John
•  Eric Vermeer, oncologist
•  Régis Burnet, historian and biblical scholar
•  Baudoin du Parc, engineer and economist
•  Frans A.M. Alting von Geusau, professor of International law
•  Monseigneur Andre-Joseph Léonard, archbishop of the diocese of Malines-Brussels
•  Dominique Lambert, Ph.D. in philosophy and in physical sciences
•  Père Olivier Bonnewijn, philosopher
•  Phillipe Laurent, professional coach
•  Carine Brochier, economist
•  Sigiswald Kuijken, professor of baroque violin
•  Monseigneur Guy Harpigny, bishop of Tournai
•  Albert Rondelet, theologian
•  Frère Marie-Dominique Goutièrre, doctor in philosophy

Emmanuelle Dancourt is a journalist for the past 15 years. After having worked for France 3, France 5 and Public-Sénat, she hosts since 9 years the broadcast of KTO on Saturday night: VIP Visages Inattendus de Personnalités (Unexpected Faces and Personalities). She has interviewed directly over 300 people. She writes regularly in l’Invisible(The Invisible) and is also the author of two biographies.



Father Thomas Joachim, prior general of the Community of Saint John. Originally from Bordeaux, brother Thomas was a missionary in Cameroun, the United States of America and Taiwan. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, and has taught at several seminaries and institutes. He was superior of several monasteries and was Vicar General of the Brothers of St John for three years, before being elected Prior General.



Eric Vermeer, father of six children, two of whom are adopted and are handicapped. For ten years he worked as an oncologist at the service of young leukemia patients and for ten years at palliative care. He teaches bioethics and psychiatry at a school of nursing and gives conferences for (para)medical staff in Belgium and abroad. In his ministry as a deacon he accompanies couples and youth in difficulty or in their spiritual quest.


Régis Burnet, professor at UCL (Louvain-la-Neuve). Bible scholar and historian, former student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure’ (Paris). Author of several books, he hosts at KTO the emission “La Foi Prise au Mot” (The Faith Taken at Its Word).





Baudoin du Parc, recently retired, is the father of four children. Engineer and economist, he has worked at the World Bank in Washington, DC, for development projects in Africa. After this he was for 20 years director of Human Resources and partner at an important financial institute in Brussels. He also guided groups of asset management. Today he plays an active role in investment companies.



Prof. Jhr. Dr. Frans A.M. Alting von Geusau studied law at Leiden University and European Studies at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. He is Professor Emeritus of International Law, Tilburg University and Western Cooperation, Leiden University. Since 1994 he is on the faculty of the Phoenix Institute for the Study of Western Institutions at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana (U.S.A) and since 2008 is Visiting Professor of International Relations in the Advanced LLM program in International Law at Leiden University. With the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, he was a member of the Scientific Council (1985-1997) and participated in the Castel Gandolfo talks hosted by Pope John-Paul II.

Monseigneur Andre-Joseph Léonard, is archbishop of the diocese of Malines-Brussels. He is master associate in philosophy, member of the International Commission of Theology, as well as the advisory body of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1999 he preached the Lenten retreat for Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia. On the doctrinal level, he sees himself in a continuation of Vatican Council II and of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, of which he estimates that the heritage “is not behind us, but in front of us, like a program”.

Dominique Lambert, Ph.D. in philosophy and in physical sciences, is professor at the faculty of Namur, member of the ‘Académie Royale de Belgique’ and consulter of the Pontifical Commission of Culture. Author of different works, including: Sciences et Théologie, les figures du dialogue (Science and Theology, Figures of Dialogue)




Father Olivier Bonnewijn, member of the Community of Emmanuel. He received his master in philosophy and doctorate at the John Paul II Institute for the Studies of Marriage and the Family. He teaches at the Jesuit Faculty in Brussels (I.E.T.). He is author of Ethique sexuelle et familiale (Family and Sexual Ethics) and of a series of educational mini-novels for children.



Phillipe Laurent, professional coach and author of Le Bonheur au travail (Happiness at Work). With a background in philosophy, he worked for 15 years in the railroad industry, for ALSTOM transport. Five of these years he spent in China working on a metro project for the city of Shanghai. In 2008, having received his certificate at the school of coaching of Dôjô, he created “PROJECT COACHING”, associated with the theme of happiness at work.


Carine Brochier has a formation in economics. As a journalist, she worked several years as librarian for a large newspaper group. With this in mind, she was entrusted with fundamental research on the question of abortion. This was a turning point for her. At the same time, she founded in 2001 the European Institute of Bioethics, comprised of doctors, lawyers, scientists, and philosophers. Radio host, and host at several schools, but also mother of a family, the question of bioethics is for her a fundamental issue in a society where values are being completely lost.

Sigiswald Kuijken, professor of baroque violin at conservatories in The Hague and Brussels, he has founded with Gustav Leonhardt the baroque Ensemble “La Petite Bande” (inspired by the ensemble directed by Lully). He has recorded countless works of the great German, French and Italian masters of the XVII and XVIII century: Muffat, Corelli, Bach, Mozart, Rameau, Couperin…



Monseigneur Guy Harpigny, has been bishop of the diocese of Tournai since 2003. He studied theology and Arabic at the ‘Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études de Paris-Sorbonne’. He was student at the Dominican Institute of Oriental studies in Cairo. Having obtained his Ph.D. in theology, he also graduated from the « Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherche de Théologie et de Sciences Religieuses ». Pope Benedict XVI appointed him member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in March 2007.

Albert Rondelet, received his formation in theology, and is "Catechist of Adults." He now teaches in several monasteries. Religion teacher for 30 years, he designed a path based on Scripture, helping his students to understand that faith and reason are deeply connected. He is also psychologist and accompanies suffering people.




Father Marie-Dominique Goutierre, entered the Community of Saint John in 1982 and was ordained priest in 1989. Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) with a thesis on Hegel and the understanding of faith, he also holds a Masters degree in Catholic theology from the University of Strasbourg. He was Dean of Studies of Philosophy of the Community of the Brothers of St. John, while teaching in various places, France and Switzerland among others. Assisting Father Marie-Dominique Philippe in writing most of his books from 1988 to 2006, he is himself the author of several books on philosophy and theology.
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