A Dutch bishop has distanced himself from his auxiliary who published an open letter to Pope Leo raising widespread concerns about the efficacy of the Synod on Synodality.
Bishop De Korte of the Diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch has pushed back against his auxiliary in the diocese, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, appearing to further widen the theological gap between the two which has grown in recent years.
Mutsaerts had published a lengthy open letter to Pope Leo XIV on August 14, in which he posed searching questions regarding the Synod on Synodality. Mutsaerts, the auxiliary of ’s-Hertogenbosch since 2010, asked Leo to encourage the Church in having confidence in proclaiming the Catholic Faith, rather than allowing the synodal style of “listening” to dominate.
“The world is not waiting for yet another organization that listens to it. There are enough of those,” he said. “The world is waiting for someone who tells it what it was created for.”
Mutsaerts’ wide-ranging critique of the Synod came upon the back of his growing skepticism of the event year on year, but one which is not shared by his ordinary.
Speaking to NederlandsDagblad about Mutsaerts’ letter, De Korte stated that Mutsaerts “did not consult with him regarding this lengthy open letter.”
He argued that Mutsaerts should have sent a “personal letter” to Pope Leo as the “proper course of action, since “an auxiliary bishop in particular has his own channels for communicating with the Bishop of Rome.”
For De Korte, Mutsaerts’ concerns about the Synod will have no impact. “In any case, at the request of Pope Francis and Pope Leo, the Dutch bishops are continuing to build a synodal Church,” he said. “On Friday, October 16, the bishops and Dutch religious orders are organizing a national inspiration day on synodality at the Sint Janscentrum in ’s-Hertogenbosch.”
Mutsaerts has grown increasingly vocal with his concerns about the direction of certain policies emanating from the Vatican in recent years, such as critiquing the 2019 Amazon Synod, the Synod on Synodality, and the restrictions levied against the traditional Mass via Traditionis Custodes. Such commentary has aligned him more with other prominent prelates including Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Cardinal Gerhard Müller.
The bishop stepped down from several of his responsibilities as diocesan auxiliary in March 2020, meaning that he is no longer a member of the Council of Priests or a participation in chapter meetings. In place of those duties, Mutsaerts continued with more limited diocesan curial roles, along with remaining an active parish priest.
At the time, a joint statement from the two bishops of ’s-Hertogenbosch referenced their acknowledged differences regarding the Church. They pointed to their “well known…individualities and differences” and mentioned that “we prefer different approaches when it comes to the administration of the diocese”.
De Korte was appointed to lead the diocese in March 2016, with Mutsaerts now having remained as an auxiliary of ’s-Hertogenbosch for 16 years.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
