Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands

The Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands is a permanent body within the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands which determines policies and directs the apostolic mission within the Netherlands. It is governed by bishops from around the country.

Map of the seven Roman Catholic dioceses in the Netherlands

Description

The Dutch Catholic Church has an archbishopric and six suffragan dioceses under it as well as a Military Ordinariate. An archbishop stands alone at the head of the archdiocese, but he is not the "boss" of his fellow bishops or their dioceses. Each diocese has a bishop (ordinary) and some dioceses also have one or more auxiliary bishops.

If the diocese is sede vacante, then a diocesan administrator is designated. This does not necessarily have to be a bishop and sometimes is the vicar-general. If a non-bishop is diocesan administrator, he will attend meetings of the bishops' conference, but is not a voting member.

The apostolic nuncio usually attends meetings of the Bishops' Conference, but he is not a member of it because he is not a bishop of a diocese within the Netherlands. The nuncio represents the Holy See.

The Netherlands Bishops' Conference is usually chaired by a bishop with the highest rank, such as the Archbishop, but this is not mandatory. When Wim Eijk took offices as archbishop of Utrecht in 2008, he chose not to assume the presidency, in order to have more time for his work as archbishop. Therefore, Ad van Luyn was the President and Frans Wiertz the Vice-President (the two 'seniores "among the seven bishops).

Today Hans van den Hende is President and Jan Liesen is Vice-President.

Members of the Bishops' Conference
  • Wim Eijk, Cardinal, Archbishop of Utrecht
  • Jan Liesen, Bishop of Breda, Deputy Chairman
  • Ron van den Hout, Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden
  • Jos Punt, Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam and Military Bishop
  • Gerard de Korte, Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch
  • Frans Wiertz, Bishop of Roermond
  • Hans van den Hende, Bishop of Rotterdam, Chairman
  • Jan Hendriks, Coadjutor Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam
  • Rob Mutsaerts, Auxiliary Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch
  • Everard de Jong, Auxiliary Bishop of Roermond
  • Ted Hoogenboom, Auxiliary Bishop of Utrecht
  • Herman Woorts, Auxiliary Bishop of Utrecht
  • Jan van Burgsteden, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Haarlem-Amsterdam

Positions Within the Bishops' Conference

Policy Sectors

The Bishops Conference has established a nine policies which referent is still a bishop, assisted by a secretary.

Fields

In addition to the policies is a five thematic fields set, which is still a bishop referent.

Contact Persons
  • Church and Elders - Gerard de Korte
  • New Movements - Jan van Burgsteden
  • Pilgrimages - Herman Woorts
  • Religious and Secular Institutes - Jan van Burg Cities
  • Women and the Church - Gerard de Korte

Former members

There are seven Emeritus Bishop. There are also other Dutch bishops that a non-Dutch diocese boards.

Secretariat

The Secretariat of the Bishops Conference and the Dutch Church Province is conducted by the Secretariat of the Roman Catholic Communion (SRKK). The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General. Since June 2, 2012 this has been Rev. Mr. (deacon) Hans Nijhuis.

Leaders of the Bishops' Conference
DioceseOrdinaryAuxiliary Bishop
Archdiocese of UtrechtWim Eijk, (1953-06-22) June 22, 1953Ted Hoogenboom, (1960-08-27) August 27, 1960
Herman Woorts, (1963-11-12) November 12, 1963
Diocese of BredaJan Liesen, (1960-09-17) September 17, 1960none
Diocese of Groningen-LeeuwardenCornelis Franciscus Maria van den Hout (1964-11-11) November 11, 1964none
Diocese of Haarlem-AmsterdamJos Punt, (1946-01-10) January 10, 1946Jan Hendriks, (1954-11-17) November 17, 1954
Diocese of 's-HertogenboschGerard de Korte, (1955-06-13) June 13, 1955Rob Mutsaerts, (1958-05-22) May 22, 1958
Diocese of RoermondFrans Wiertz, (1942-12-02) December 2, 1942Everard de Jong, (1958-07-04) July 4, 1958
Diocese of RotterdamHans van den Hende, (1964-01-09) January 9, 1964none
Military Ordinariate of the NetherlandsJos Punt, (1946-01-10) January 10, 1946 (apostolic administrator)none
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References
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