Martinus Muskens

Tiny Muskens (June 2009)

Martinus Petrus Maria Muskens (also Tiny Muskens ; born December 11, 1935 in Elshout ; † April 17, 2013 in Teteringen ) was Bishop of Breda .

Life

Martinus Muskens was on June 16, 1962 priests of the diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch ordained . He studied theology in Nijmegen and was appointed Bishop of Breda on July 23, 1994 by Pope John Paul II . The episcopal consecration donated him the bishop emeritus of Breda, Hubertus Ernst , on November 26th of the same year; Co- consecrators were Leo Soekoto SJ , Archbishop of Jakarta , and Peter Turkson , Archbishop of Cape Coast . His motto was Shalom . The two co-consecrators recognized his international experience; one was his bishop in Jakarta for many years, the other he knew as a student from Rome.

On October 31, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI. his health-related resignation.

Muskens was the first of Breda's nine bishops to date who was not born in the same diocese and had never studied or worked there. Many years abroad, including in Indonesia and Rome, as well as many trips around the world, meant that he was quite a stranger in the Netherlands . From 1978 to 1994 he was rector of the Pontifical College Olandese in Rome, where at that time hardly any Dutch, but many Asian and African priestly students studied. He turned the medieval Frisian Church , located very close to St. Peter's Basilica, into a flourishing Dutch community of residents of Rome and pilgrims of the "Eternal City".

bishop

The then unknown bishop quickly made a name for himself because he was active in the social field. Muskens became famous because of his testimony on VPRO television that a poor man who no longer had the opportunity to buy something would not do wrong if he stole bread from the bakery. The Muskens roll became a proverb in the Netherlands.

The angry leader of the liberal party VVD , Frits Bolkestein , defended the middle class , gave the bishop a public rebuke and left without waiting for the bishop's answer.

Muskens had slept with the homeless under the bridges of Amsterdam , he volunteered in an old people's home, and even made no friends among his fellow bishops when he argued for condoms instead of AIDS . On the 150th birthday of the diocese in 2003, the bishop wanted to announce a collection of donations for a diocese synod. In Rome it was made clear to the bishop that this might not be such a good idea after all. Muskens, who was very well known in Vatican circles, understood what was meant: no synod.

For many years in Indonesia, the Muskens had long convinced that interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims was necessary. Nevertheless, a fruitful dialogue is not seriously possible, he said, as long as Saudi Arabia is still banning the building of churches.

Brother martinus

The always very active bishop was hit by two strokes in 2001 . He recovered after several therapies , but there was no talk of improvement. He himself consecrated his successor Hans van den Hende as bishop. He retired as "Brother Martinus" ( Oblate ) with the Benedictines in Teteringen. The municipality of Breda made him an honorary citizen of the city in 2009 .

Web links

• Entry on Martinus Muskens on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved April 17, 2013.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Katholiek Nederland. February 2006  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

predecessor	Office	successor
Hubertus Cornelis Antonius Ernst	Bishop of Breda 1994-2007	Hans van den Hende