The next bishop of Roermond should be a social media user, but is to stay in office for 15 years at most, a poll amongst priests of the Diocese of Roermond by newspaper De Limburger has revealed. The successor of Bishop Frans Wiertz, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 in December, should be communicative, using social media and other means to reach people. He should also be a bishop in the line of Pope Francis, with strong and inspirational policies. Several priests have said that the diocese’s management has been slowly dying down in recent years. Bishop Wiertz has been at the helm of the southern Dutch diocese since 1993, which makes him the most senior among the Dutch bishops.
A consequence of the need for fresh management and policies is that a bishop shouldn’t stay in one place for too long. “Ten, fifteen years is nice, but then it is time for a new one,” Father Harrie Broers says. Father Jos Spee, the dean of Venlo, adds, “Different times need different challenges and that is why change is needed on time. Therefore it’s best to appoint a bishop in his mid-sixties. He will cease automatically at 75.”
Bishop Wierts was appointed at the age of 50. Recently, his eye sight has been failing, although he hopes to be able to continue in his office until turning 75 on 2 December. Since 1998, Bishop Wiertz has been assisted in his duties by auxiliary Bishop Everard de Jong.
A social media-using bishop would certainly constitute a change in the Dutch episcopate. Although some bishops have dabbled in using twitter or a blog, only Bishop Jan Hendriks, auxiliary bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam, is an active blogger who also uses Twitter and Facebook, and not only to share, but also to communicate with his followers.
In Caelo et in Terra 
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