Robert Mutsaerts

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Coat of arms of Robertus Gerardus Leonia Maria Mutsaerts with the motto "The truth will make you free" ( Joh 8,32  EU )

Robert Mutsaerts (called Rob Mutsaerts , completely Robertus Gerardus Leonia Maria Mutsaerts ; born May 22, 1958 in Tilburg ) is auxiliary bishop in 's-Hertogenbosch .

Life

After Robert Mutsaerts a degree in Law at the University of Tilburg had finished, he was among the first candidates for the priesthood who at the Bishop ter Schure John SDB in the diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch furnished seminary Sint-Janscentrum were trained. Robert Mutsaerts was ordained a priest on June 5, 1993 by Johannes ter Schure . As a pastor he worked in Millingen am Rhein (1995–2003) and in Heeze (2003–2010). For a time he was also vice principal at the Sint-Janscentrum .

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him on July 15, 2010 auxiliary bishop in 's-Hertogenbosch and titular bishop of Uccula . The bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch , Antonius Hurkmans , consecrated him on September 18 of the same year as bishop ; Co- consecrators were Frans Wiertz , Bishop of Roermond , and Joseph Frans Lescrauwaet MSC , auxiliary bishop emeritus in Haarlem . Mutsaerts was also vicar general von Hurkmans and led the diocese with a hard hand together with a second auxiliary bishop, his consecrated colleague Jan Liesen , who was also vicar general. Robert Mutsaerts was unable to win the successor to Antoon Hurkmans, who resigned as Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch due to illness in 2016. After Liesen was appointed Bishop of Breda in the late autumn of 2011 and his successor as Vicar General, Ron van den Hout , resigned in spring 2017 and became Bishop of Groningen , Mutsaerts initially remained sole under Hurkmans' successor, Bishop Gerard de Korte , who was introduced in 2016 Vicar General. Only after a two-year vacancy, in which the usual vicar duties had to be dealt with internally by the episcopal curia, did De Korte reassign the post of second vicar general as part of a restructuring of the diocese leadership in May 2019.

Mutsaerts is the Dutch youth bishop. He is considered extremely conservative and expresses himself brusquely hostile to reform efforts within the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Francis . In autumn 2018, for example, he canceled his participation in the youth synod in Rome because he considered it to be badly timed due to the ongoing abuse crisis in the Catholic Church , and sharply criticized the results of the 2019 Roman Amazon Synod. With the proposals published in the final document of the synod, a “Pandora's box” had been opened. In addition, the decision to come about was already predetermined by the selection of the 180 Synod Fathers, in that critics of these proposals were not even invited to the Synod. Mutsaerts is also one of the signatories of a church-critical petition by Catholic traditionalists who accuse the Pope of " acts of sacrilege ".

Robert Mutsaerts is active on social media ; However, he gave up his blog, which is known for pointed and polemical contributions, with the episcopal ordination in 2010. He is perceived as a classic representative of a culturally pessimistic future vision for the Catholic Church: Mutsaerts would like to see an extremely strict and demanding, strictly hierarchically oriented "Church of the Saints" in terms of teaching content and orthodoxy , which has only a few members but its eternal truths relentlessly defended against modern culture, without taking into account social discourses and developments, which he rates negatively as " zeitgeist ". This church image is not shared by his current bishop Gerard de Korte, who considers the idea of ​​a “holy remnant church” to be “at least not Catholic” and rejects it.

Robert Mutsaerts is one of the signatories of a multilingual appeal by Carlo Maria Viganò on May 7th, 2020 with the Latin title “Veritas liberabit vos!” ( The truth will set you free , according to Jn 8,32  EU ), which is published on the website kathisch.de of the German Bishops' Conference as a “conglomerate of conspiracy myths and pseudoscience”. It complains that under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rights and fundamental freedoms of many citizens are "disproportionately and unjustifiably restricted"; Public health should not become an alibi "to free civil authorities from their duty to act wisely for the common good". The text refers to growing doubts about the actual risk of infection from the coronavirus and describes the reporting of the pandemic as " alarmism ". The containment measures taken fostered the interference of "foreign powers" with serious social and political consequences, according to the text signed by Catholic clergy, journalists, doctors and lawyers. There are forces “interested in creating panic in the population” and promoting “the isolation of individuals” in order to be able to better manipulate and control them. ”This is“ the disturbing prelude to the creation of a world government that beyond any control ”. The text was described by various media as absurd and the theses expressed as conspiracy theories .

Robert Mutsaerts is a great-great-nephew of Willem Pieter Mutsaerts (1889–1964), who was Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch from 1943 to 1960.

Publications

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gero P. Weishaupt: "Society is changing, but the principles of the church are not". In: Kathnews , November 25, 2011, accessed on January 26, 2020
    (review of an interview with Mutsaerts published in De Volkskrant on November 21, 2011 ).
  2. ↑ Pastoor-deken Theo Lamers benoemd dead Vicari-generaal van den Bosch Bisdom. In: Katholiek.nl , May 15, 2019, accessed on January 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  3. ↑ Peter De Graaf: Verboden liederen zingen tegen de hulpbisschop. In: De Volkskrant , October 6, 2011, accessed January 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ Dutch youth bishop cancels participation in the Synod of Bishops. In: Katholisch.de , September 20, 2018, accessed January 25, 2020.
  5. ^ A b Rachel Donadio: Pope Francis, the Revolutionary, Takes On the Traditionalists. In: The Atlantic , October 27, 2019, accessed January 25, 2020.
  6. ↑ 'Let us hope that Pope Francis tears up the final document'. In: Kath.net , January 23, 2020, accessed on January 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ Contra Recentia Sacrilegia. Protest against Pope Francis's sacrilegious acts. Accessed January 25, 2020 (petition with list of signatories, English).
  8. ^ Frank Bosman: Vriendschap en waarheid op social media. In: also with Eric van den Berg (ed.): Handboek kerk en social media. Boekencentrum, Utrecht 2012, ISBN 978-90-239-2650-4 , pp. 88-102; here: 89f.
  9. ↑ Call. In: APPEAL FOR THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Retrieved May 10, 2020 (American English).
  10. ↑ Church appeal with conspiracy theories . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Bishops spread conspiracy theories . In: Tagesschau.de , May 9, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Mutsaerts, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mutsaerts, Rob; Mutsaerts, Robertus; Mutsaerts, Robertus Gerardus Leonia Maria (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch clergyman, Roman Catholic bishop
DATE OF BIRTH May 22, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Tilburg