JANSSENS, Henri (in religion Laurent). - Benedictine theologian, b. at St-Nicolas (Waes) in Belgium, on 2 July 1855, d. at Scheut-lez-Bruxelles on 17 Jan. 1925. Of a distinguished family, he entered the Seminary of Ghent in 1874, and two years later was sent to the Belgian College in Rome, where he was formed in the school of Franzelin and Palmieri. Having become a priest, he became a Benedictine at Maredsous (1881), and after some years of theological and literary teaching he returned to Rome (1893) as professor of dogmatics at the Anselmian Athenaeum. He subsequently held important offices in the Roman Curia: secretary of the Biblical Commission, of the Commission for the Vulgate, of the S. Congregation of Religious; from this last office he resigned in 1910. In 1921 he was consecrated titular bishop of Tiberias.
Principal works: La Confirmation (Lille 1888); Au pays du Messie (Bruges 1921); Summa theologica ad modum commentarii in Aquinatis Summam praesentis aevi studiis aptatam (9 vols., Fribourg in Br. 1909-21). It is a rich commentary on the individual articles of the Summa of St. Thomas, around which are grouped biblical and patristic passages, harmonized with the doctrine of the Aquinate and of his best interpreters.
trobourg, he was protopresbyter of the imperial court and confessor of the tsars.
His dissertation entitled: The state of the doctrine on conscience, freedom and grace in the orthodox system of theology and attempt at an elucidation of this doctrine was rejected in 1872 by the academic council and in 1873 by the Holy Synod as contrary to the Symbolic Books and to official theology, which for J. was "not sufficiently determined," for which reason he sought to replace it with the psychological-philosophical method. In the period 1874-75, J. dealt with union with the "Old Catholics." J.'s principal work is The orthodox-Christian doctrine on morality (course of his lectures given at Petersburg, Moscow 1887, 2nd ed. Petersburg 1906). J. depends on Protestant authors. He favored an asceticism not so much monastic as generally Christian, seeking to demonstrate its supreme reasonableness, and insisting on the formation of one's own character rather than on contemplation, in which J. saw quietism.
Bibliography3 works
Bernardo Schultze