Adrianus Johannes Simonis
Adrianus Johannes Simonis (born 26 November 1931) is a Dutch Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1983 to 2007, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985.
Adrianus Johannes Simonis | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Utrecht | |
 Simonis in 1971 | |
| See | Utrecht |
| Installed | 3 December 1983 |
| Term ended | 14 April 2007 |
| Predecessor | Johannes Willebrands |
| Successor | Wim Eijk |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of S. Clemente |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 15 June 1957 by Martien Antoon Jansen |
| Consecration | 20 March 1971 by Bernardus Johannes Alfrink |
| Created cardinal | 25 May 1985 by John Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 November 1931 Lisse, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | UT COGNOSCANT TE (So that they may know you) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Biography
Simonis was born in Lisse, South Holland, the second eldest of eleven children. He studied at the Seminary of Hageveld from 1945 to 1951, and at the Major Seminary of Warmond from 1951 to 1957. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Martien Jansen on 15 June 1957, and then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Rotterdam until 1959, serving as curate at the parish of Saint Victor in Waddinxveen and later at the parish Holy Martyrs Gorinchem in Rotterdam.
From 1959 to 1966, he furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and the Pontifical Biblical Institute, from where he obtained a doctorate cum laude in biblical exegesis with a thesis entitled: "Jesus as the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of Saint John". Following his return to the Netherlands, he served as pastor of the parish of Blessed Sacrament in The Hague (1966–1970) and chaplain in the Red Cross Hospital. He became a canon of the cathedral chapter of Rotterdam in March 1969.
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He was named Bishop of Rotterdam on 29 December 1970. The appointment of a conservative priest as a bishop in the then progressive Catholic Church in the Netherlands caused considerable turmoil, and Simonis had to devote himself to promoting harmony and unity in his community. Simonis became Archbishop of Utrecht on 3 December 1983. A former president of the Dutch Bishops' Conference, Simonis was a major supporter of Pope John Paul II's eventful visit to the Netherlands in 1985.
He was elevated to the College of Cardinals during the Consistory of 25 May 1985, as Cardinal-Priest of Basilica of San Clemente, making him the seventh cardinal of the Dutch Church. He is a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He held these memberships until his 80th birthday on 26 November 2011.
Cardinal Simonis was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Simonis sent his letter of resignation as Archbishop of Utrecht to Pope Benedict on 13 November 2006, and the Pope accepted it on 14 April 2007, two months before Simonis celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest on 15 June. Simonis continued to govern the archdiocese as Apostolic Administrator until his successor, Wim Eijk, who was appointed on 11 December of the same year, took possession of the see.
Controversy
In 2011, Cardinal Simonis testified on 25 January that he had no role in the appointment or dismissal of a Catholic priest accused of drugging and raping a young man. The brief appearance by Cardinal Simonis at Middelburg District Court marked the first time such a senior cleric had appeared in a Dutch courtroom to answer questions about abuse in the church. The victim, Dave ten Hoor, says he was drugged and raped twice by the priest, identified only as Father Jan N., in 1989 and 1990 in the southern town of Terneuzen. "I do not know him at all," Simonis said of Father Jan, adding that he had nothing to do with his appointment as a priest in Terneuzen. Simonis has been drawn into the case because before moving to Terneuzen, Father Jan also allegedly abused children at a youth centre run by the Salesian order in Rijswijk, a town just outside The Hague. At the time, Simonis was Bishop of Rotterdam and Rijswijk fell within his diocese. However Cardinal Simonis said he had visited the centre just once for a party and did not recall meeting the priest, though he did not rule out that he may have been introduced to him.[1]
According to Radio Netherlands World:
- "The cardinal was told by the then bishop of Rotterdam, Philippe Bär, that the priest had sexually abused underage boys in his parish in Zoetermeer. Bishop Bär wanted the priest out of his diocese. Archbishop Simonis then arranged for the man to be moved to a parish in Amersfoort.
- The cardinal kept the Amersfoort parish in the dark about the priest’s paedophile behaviour and convictions. The priest himself says the cardinal did nothing to monitor how the situation developed.
- Parents who complained about the priest to Cardinal Simonis were given no assistance. Hanneke Brunt, whose altar-boy son was abused: 'Simonis told me – ‘This doesn’t go on in the Roman Catholic Church. We don’t do that.’' Abuse victim Erwin Meester says Cardinal Simonis 'wilfully and knowingly gave a paedophile his protection, when he should have been protecting the faithful under his care.'
| Styles of Adrianus Johannes Simonis | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Utrecht (Emeritus) |
Cardinal Simonis, now retired, caused a furore in 2010, when he commented on the abuse in an interview on Pauw & Witteman. Speaking in German, he said: "Wir haben es nicht gewusst (We did not know)".[2] He says he dealt with all the cases of abuse that were brought to his attention "extremely carefully".[3][4]
References
- "Cardinal Simonis witness in abuse case".
- "Dutch Cardinal protected paedophile priest".
- "Cardinal Ad Simonis accused of protecting abuser priest". BBC News. 11 February 2011 – via www.bbc.com.
External links
- "Simonis Card. Adrianus Johannes". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis at Catholic-Hierarchy
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Martien Antoon Jansen |
Bishop of Rotterdam 29 December 1970–27 June 1983 |
Succeeded by Ronald Philippe Bär |
| Preceded by Johannes Willebrands |
Archbishop of Utrecht 3 December 1983–14 April 2007 |
Succeeded by Wim Eijk |
| Preceded by Lawrence Shehan |
Cardinal-Priest of San Clemente 25 May 1985–present |
Incumbent |
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