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As the year of Our Lord 2011 draws to a close, I happily join the ranks of the countless media channels creating overviews of the years past. And both for this blog, as well as the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and abroad, it has been a tumultuous year, both positive and negative. Taking this blog as the goggles we use to look back, blog, Church and wider world become unavoidably intertwined, but, in a way, that is how it should be.
In January, we saw the announcement of the beatification of Pope John Paul II, the resignation of Rotterdam’s Bishop Ad van Luyn being accepted, and the launch of Blessed Titus Brandsma’s Twitter adventure.
February was the month of interesting considerations by Bishop Schneider about Vatican II, shocking new developments in the abuse crisis, the announcement of a undeservedly short-lived experiment with the Extraordinary Form in the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, the first signs that all is not well in Belgium, but also three new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels, and the vacancy of Berlin.
March brought us disturbing news about Bishop Cor Schilder, an extensive message for Lent from the Dutch bishops, disaster in Japan, the announcement of a great ecumenical media project for Easter, and the annual Stille Omgang in Amsterdam.
April: the month of the consecration of Bishops Kockerols, Lemmens and Hudsyn, the first EF Mass in Groningen’s cathedral, further attempts at repressing religious freedom in the Netherlands, the bishops of Belgium uniting in shock to further improprieties from Roger Vangheluwe, the pope’s birthday, further personal attacks against Archbishop Eijk and the first preparations for Madrid.
In May we saw and read about the death of Bin Laden, the beatification of John Paul II, the first Vatican blogmeet, the appointment of Bishop van den Hende to Rotterdam, the publication of Universae Ecclesiae, a prayer answered, a papal visit to Venice, enraging comments from the Salesian superior in the Netherlands, and subsequent press releases from the Salesian Order.
June was the month of papal comments about new evangelisation and sacred music, the end of EF Masses in Groningen, the pope visiting Croatia, a new bishop in Görlitz, Bishop van Luyn’s farewell to Rotterdam, advice on financial compensation for abuse victims, Archbishop Eijk taking over as president of the Dutch bishops’ conference, and the death of Cardinal Sterzinsky.
In July, Bishop Rainer Woelki went to Berlin, there was more preparation for Madrid, Bishop van den Hende was installed as bishop of Rotterdam, the pope visited San Marino, Luxembourg received a new archbishop, Bootcamp 2011 took place, Bishop Liesen appeared on EWTN, Blessed Titus Brandsma ended his Twitter adventure, and the crimes of Anders Breivik hit home for Dutch Catholics.
August was a big month because of the World Youth Days in Madrid, but we also learned about Archbishop Dolan’s explanation of the Vatican, freedom of conscience being curtailed, the 100,000th visitor of this blog, and the Liempde affair exploding in the media.
In September, the official website of the Dutch Church got a make-over, Archbishop Eijk wrote a thankyou note to the participants of the WYD, The Dutch bishops’ conference shuffled their responsibilities, and Pope Benedict visited Germany and delivered an important address to the Bundestag.
October, then, saw a successful reunion of the WYD troupe, Bishop Mutsaerts’ intervention in the ultra-liberal San Salvator parish, the bishops declining a proposal to Protestantise the Church, the consecration of Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, the publication of Porta Fidei and the announcement of a Year of Faith, the appointment of a new Dutch ambassador to the Holy See, the appointment of Msgr. Hendriks as auxiliary bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam, the first Night of Mary, and Assisi 2011.
In November, Cardinal Burke came to Amsterdam, the bishops accept and put into action a plan for financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse, the Peijnenburg affair made headlines, the pope went to Benin and heartwarmingly spoke to children, priests in Belgium tempted excommunication, Cardinal Simonis turned 80, Bishop Liesen became the new bishop of Breda, and a fifty-year-old letter showed that congregations new about abuse happening in their ranks.
This final month of December, then, saw the first fifty victims of sexual abuse being able to claim financial compensation, the presentation of plans for Metropolis 2012, Nuncio Bacqué’s retirement, the consecration of Bishop Jan Hendriks, pain and horror in Liège, the appointment of Archbishop André Dupuy as new Nuncio, and the publication of the Deetman report unleashing emotional reactions everywhere.
It’s been quite the year, but one with much to be thankful for. The truth sets us free seems especially apt in this final month, but can be applied to the entire year. May 2012 be equally open, honest, but also full of blessings for the Church, the people and everyone of us.
Thank you, readers, for the continued interest. That’s incentive to keep on doing what I do here.
A happy new year, and may God bless you all.
Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard and Bishop Jean Kockerols have sent a letter to the faithful, both clergy and laity, of the Vicariate of Brussels about the Metropolis 2012 project I wrote about earlier.
After an introduction about the context of the project, the ordinary and the auxiliary bishops outline the five points that the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation has outlined when it selected prelates of twelve major European cities to spearhead its first major endeavour.
Here they are, with the specific plans that the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels has:
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The importance of the proclamation of the Word of God. The continuous reading of the Gospel of Mark falls under this point.
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The grace of conversion. Four well-known Christians will be giving witness of their conversion. This will take place on every Sunday during Lent, and will be followed by Vespers.
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The (re)discovery of Gods mercy. A ‘day of encounter and reconciliation’ will be organised on the Saturday before Palm Sunday in fifteen inner-city churches, located in busy places.
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Catechesis by the bishop in service of the proclamation of the faith. Both bishops will be hosting catechesis meetings, the details of which were mentioned in a previous blog post.
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Service and engagement to others, inspired by the faith. On 18 March, a great Lenten meal will be organised for all Christians. The Latin American community of Brussels has been asked to organise this.
These points, given these specific hands and feet in Brussels, can perhaps be considered the main focal points of the entire Pontifical Council. The realisation in other cities are undoubtedly different, but it may be a good starting point, like I said earlier, that gives momentum to the new evangelisation.
Photo credit: RTL.fr
Picked to be one of eleven starting points for the new evangelisation in western Europe, the city of Brussels, self-styled capital of Europe and biggest urban area of the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels and as such the heartland of Belgian Catholicism, prepares itself for the Metropolis project, starting in Lent of 2012. The official website of the Church in Brussels and Flanders, Kerknet, offers a first glimpse at the plans which, it admits, are not fully developed yet.
Part of the work is expected to take place in local parish communities, but the faith will also have a larger visible presence in the city. Well-known citizens of Brussels will be reading out the entire Gospel of Mark, both in real life in the Notre-Dame du Finistère church and via a big screen in the busy Nieuwstraat. Churches will be open on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, and the example of the World Youth Days will be follows as both Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard and Auxiliary Bishop Jean Kockerols will host catechesis meetings with young people, newly baptised adults and young parents wishing to have their child baptised.
A starting point, surely, that will make the Catholic faith visible once more. Let’s pray that the momentum to be gained here will be used fully to propel the new evangelisation into the future.
Photo credit: Philippe Massart
