After 5 years, Müller to go? What we know and can expect

Suddenly, an increase in rumours that Cardinal Gerhard Müller is to be let go as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith appeared tonight. Should the rumours prove true, what can we say about it now?

To be precise, the cardinal is not so much being let go or fired, but simply completes his five-year term. Cardinal Müller was appointed on 2 July 2012, so his mandate ends on Sunday. Should he not be appointed for a second mandate, it would mean that he is the first prefect to complete only one. Until 1963, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was headed by the Pope himself. After the death of Pope Saint John XXIII, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani was pro-prefect from 1965 to 1968, after which Cardinal Franjo Šeper served until 1981. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger served until his fifth term, when he was elected as Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. He appointed Cardinal William Levada to succeed him: he served until 2012 (1.5 terms ended by his reaching the retirement age of 75). Cardinal Müller was then called from Regensburg to take up what is generally considered to be the first position in  the Curia.

Cardinal Müller is 69, reaching the mandatory age of retirement on New Year’s Eve 2022. What is in store for him in the meantime? His name was mentioned in relation to recent vacant dioceses in Germany, especially Mainz. But the Church in Germany is currently in the luxurious position of having all its dioceses filled, and only three dioceses, Hildesheim, Fulda and Würzburg, are expected to need a new bishop within the next year. None of these are traditional cardinalatial sees, and an appointment to one of them, no matter how worthy, will be seen as a demotion of sorts. That said, to many Pope Francis is no stranger to demoting cardinals: one need only look at Cardinal Raymond Burke, who went from leading the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura to the largely ceremonial position of Patron of the Order of Malta. As someone on social media joked: we need more orders for all the cardinals that are being sacked… That said, the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, is 78 and thus overdue for retirement…

The most interesting question of all, though, is: who has Pope Francis picked to succeed Cardinal Müller? Who will be the Holy Father’s choice to have the final say on all matters doctrinal in the Church (on behalf of the Pope, though)? Will he even pick a new prefect, or is it too far-fetched to think he may return to the pre-1963 practice of leading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith himself? Stranger things have happened, after all.

 

When will the rumours make way for facts? It could be as early as tomorrow, so keep an eye on that Holy See press bulletin shortly after noon.

Photo credit: Lauren Cater/CNA

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The effects of Christmas, 70 years later

I came across this moving story on the website of the Diocese of Regensburg:

Special guests during the Christmas evening Mass in the cathedral of Regensburg: the Vawter family from America returned to the place where their mother experienced her own Christmas miracle in 1945. In that year, 22-year-old Gabriele Meyer arrived in American-occupied Regensburg, after having been set free from a Soviet POW camp in Czechoslovakia. In the Bavarian city, a stranger took care of her, gave her food coupons and took her to Mass at St. Peter’s  cathedral. There, young Gabriele experienced her own Christmas miracle: the festive liturgy and the angelic voices of the choir for the first time allowed her to forget all the pain and terror which had led her here.

After the war, Gabriele Meyer emigrated to the United States, married a man named Vawter and had three children. These children, daughter Dorle and sons Art and Tom, with their own children, were the personal guests of Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer this Christmas. Gabriele Vawter died in 2010, but she never forgot her experience in Regensburg at Christmas of 1945, and it moved her entire family. They assured Bishop Voderholzer, “We now know what moved our mother so deeply then!”

The power of celebrating, music and practical assistance in times of need. It can transcend decades and generations.

Among the bishops, three big events

A noteable day for the German episcopate yesterday as three major life events occured.

First, there was the news of the death of Bishop Manfred Müller, bishop emeritus of Regensburg. The 88-year-old prelate had been bishop of the southern diocese from 1982 to 2002, when he was succeeded by now-Cardinal Gerhard Müller (no relation). Bishop Müller led the commission for education in the German Bishops’ Conference, and after his retirement he lived in Mallersdorf monastery, which is where he died yesterday morning.

^Bishop Müller launches the website of the Diocese of regensburg, in this photo from 2001.

Later on the same day, which was his 75th birthday, Bishop Norbert Werbs, auxiliary bishop of Hamburg, saw the acceptance of his resignation. Bishop Werbs was the longest-serving auxiliary bishop of Germany, first for the Catholics in Schwerin, then nominally part of the Diocese of Osnabrück although it lay in Communist East Germany, and since 1994 in the restored Archdiocese of Hamburg. He remains a keen photographer and amateur engineer, wont to repair his own car when it breaks down.

^ A keen photographer, Bishop Werbs is the subject of an extensive photo gallery  on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

Lastly, yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the ordination of Archbishop Stephan Burger of Freiburg im Breisgau. Still one of the younger bishops in the country, the archbishop was ordained with 22 other priests in 1990. Yesterday, he stated in a homily to mark the anniversary:

“To not be confused, remaining true to the Good News of the Lord, to hold fast to the fact that He is the way, the truth and the life for us, that is also the commandment of the day, for the present time…

25 years ago we did not step forward to proclaim the failures of man and Church, but this Word that goes out from the Father and which is Christ Himself.

Structures are subject to the progression of time, but the love of Christ isn’t, His message isn’t, and therefore the nature of the Church is ultimately unchangeable”.

In Regensburg, a spiritual guide is to be made a bishop

The Diocese of Regensburg today announces the appointment of a second auxiliary bishop in the person of 57-year-old Msgr. Josef Graf. Most recently active as spiritual director of the St. Wolfgang seminary in Regensburg, the new auxiliary joins Bishop Rudlf Voderholzer and Auxiliary Bishop Reinhard Pappenberger. Bishop-elect Graf has been given the titular see of Inis Cathaig in Ireland, which fell vacant in July of 2013 when Bishop Frank Caggiano was appointed as bishop of Bridgeport.

Msgr. Graf was raised and educated in and near Regensburg before studying theology in Rome, which is also where he was ordained in 1983. From 1984 to 1986 he worked in a parish in Regensburg, after which he returned to Rome for further studies. In 1990 he was promoted to doctor of theology, with a thesis on the theology of Gottlieb Söhngens (who also taught Joseph Ratzinger). Since 1989 he has been the spiritual director of the diocesan seminary, in addition to other pastoral activities. On the website of the seminary we read the following quote from the new bishop:

“The duty of a spiritual director has two sides. One of teaching and one of guidance. In the role of spiritual teacher I see myself as part of many events which take place in our house. Even more important is the so-called forum internum, in which I am available to the seminarians as conversation partner and spiritual guide and confessor. Part of this duty is that, contrary to the rector and vice-rector, I am not a supervisor of the students and therefore also not a part of the leadership of the house. Leadership is not what my duty is about, but guidance; not about making decisions, but helping in clarifying the paths of the seminarians own lives.”

Of course, being a bishop does entail some form of leadership, or rather responsibility, although a bishop is always called to be a servant. Not unlike a spiritual director then.

A date for the consecration is yet to beannounced,but according to Canon Law it has to be within three months after the announcement, so no later than 24 July.

The reason for requesting a second auxiliary bishop is the size of the Diocese of Regensburg, which stretches along the Czech border and is the largest in Bavaria. Established in 739, Regensburg, or Ratisbon as it is also often known, was a springboard for the evangelisation of the Bohemian, Moravian and Slovakian lands. Among the best-known former bishops of Regensburg are of course Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who was bishop from 2002 to 2012, and Saint Albert the Great, bishop from 1260 to 1280.

For a hermit, the road to priesthood

Wonderful news from the shrine of Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed in Warfhuizen, late last night, as hermit Brother Hugo announced that he will be ordained to the diaconate on the 23rd of January. This news is the culmination of months of studying on the part of the hermit, and a process in which the status of the shrine has been regularised to such an extent that the future is ensured should Brother Hugo (many years from now, God willing) no longer be able to serve the needs of the pilgrims and Our Lady there. Brother Hugo is now a member of the hermit’s association of Frauenbründl in the German Diocese of Regensburg. This association now takes responsibility for having a hermit present at the shrine, even though the shrine remains part of the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, and the hermit’s profession, made two years ago to the bishop, remains with him as well.

Brother Hugo’s ordination is set for 23 January and will take place at the cathedral of St. Joseph in Groningen. Bishop Gerard de Korte will be the ordaining bishop. The ordination to the priesthood will take place at a later date, presumably in the autumn of 2015. There will be no official invitations to the ordination, but everyone who wants to join in celebrating the occasion is welcome. Mass starts at 19:00 hours.

For the shrine of Our Lady, this will mean a further boost for the spiritual life which has been steadily growing over the past decade, as we may expect the daily celebration of Holy Mass to take place there once Brother Hugo is a priest. This in addition to the life of prayer, adoration, pilgrimage, worship and down-to-earth spiritual recharging for all who happen to wander into the shrine.

Brother Hugo has expressed great joy at the decision, which officially came as a response to a request from the hermit of Frauenbründl, who serves as the hermit’s association’s head. I add my own joy and prayers to that.

EDIT: Since I probably looked at the date crosseyed, I have corrected it: the ordination is scheduled for the 23rd of January, instead of the 25th. Time and location are unchanged.

Regensburg and Rome – Bishop in the spotlight

Pope Francis added three new members to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith this week.Membership is not a fulltime job, but does entail regular visits to Rome to attend meetings. Virtually all the world’s cardinals are members of one or more congregations, councils or commissions, and others can also be appointed, be they bishops, priests or lay faithful.

The three new appointments are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznań in Poland, and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg in Germany.

Bishop Voderholzer, pictured above with Pope Francis, is making a proper space in the spotlight for himself these days, as he is also the host of the 99th Katholikentag and thus the recipient of a personal message from Pope Francis, which I shared here in the blog earlier. The professor of dogmatics was the final German appointment of Pope Benedict XVI in December 2012, when he was tasked to head the Diocese of Regensburg. His predecessor there, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, now heads the Congregation for the Doctrine the Faith that Bishop Voderholzer is joining as a member. The bishop and the cardinal already had many things in common, from the see of Regensburg to the collected works of Benedict XVI, the publication of which Bishop Voderholzer now oversees. A sign of continuity, not just between the former and current bishops of Regensburg, but also those of Rome.

Photo credit: L’Osservatore Romano

“Building bridges with Christ”- Pontifex writes about the true Pontifex

In a message to the organisation and participants of the German Katholikentag, it’s 99th edition starting in Regensburg today, Pope Francis takes on the events motto to write about what it means to imitate Christ in His building of bridges between people and between God and people. Classic Francis:

“My honourable brother Rudolf Voderholzer, Bishop of Regensburg!

In heartfelt unity I greet you and all our brothers in the episcopate, the priests, the deacons and laity who have come from all parts of Germany, and also from the Czech Republic, Austria and other countries to the time-honoured “City of Bridges” Regensburg on the occasion of the 99th Catholic Day, taking place from 28 May to 1 June. Under the motto “Building bridges with Christ” you wish to celebrate together in these days, to learn from each other and pray from one another, bearing witness of our faith, through the means of the Catholic Day, as builders of bridges in Church and society.

We Christians have the standing commandment to build bridges of relationships, of maintaining a dialogue about the questions of life with other and not to lose sight of the care for the margins – be they those of society, of religion or human relationships. Christ is the foundation upon we start building; for it is he who has broken down the dividing wall between people and between God and people (cf. Eph. 2:14). Through His death on the Cross and His resurrection he builds for us the bridge of life. In his Ascension into Heaven he became the bridge builder between God and people, as a bridge between time and eternity. He calls us through Baptism and Confirmation to follow Him in building bridges.

History teaches us that dialogue is not an easy task. Just one hundred years ago it was negatively shown how people tear down bridges and refused dialogue. The terrible First World War broke out. Many more terrible wars and conflicts followed – altogether a bloody century. In the hearts of people the walls of distrust, of anger and hate for the other grew. In such a way man isolates himself in his resentment. Walls are raised, first in the heart and then between houses. How difficult does reconciliation then become. In your country, you have bitterly experienced this – with the Berlin Wall. How much pain, how much division did this wall cause. But then people came together in Churches, to pray for peace. And in the power of prayer they went out into their city, week after week. Increasing numbers of people joined them. And finally the wall was torn down – this year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of this event. There we see the mission of Christians: to pray and the go out and bring to others the Good News, for which people yearn most deeply.

Building bridges with Christ means, in particular, to pray. Prayer is not a one-way road. It is a real dialogue. Christ answers and helps us. We must pay attention, because Jesus often speaks very quietly. He speaks to us through the Gospels and through our encounters with our fellow human beings. It is important to be watchful and to often read the Gospel. Entrust yourself to the Lord and His good guidance! At the Catholic Day you give a sign for true dialogue: dialogue with Christ and with each other. In this way you become true witnesses and capable bridge coworkers with Christ in “building bridges” for peace and eternal salvation. With this in mind I gladly give all participants of the Catholic Day the Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 23 May 2014

Pope Francis”

A recognisable path – Atheist “painter of the Pope” enters the Church

A recognisable story via Kath.net today. Painter Michael Triegel from Leipzig, once an atheist, entered the Church last Easter, and it was Pope emeritus Benedict XVI who helped him cross the Tiber. Triegel became known in Catholic circles in 2010, when he was commissioned by the Diocese of Regensburg – then still headed by Bishop Gerhard Müller, now the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a personal friend of the retired Pope – to paint an official portrait of Benedict.

^Triegel and the portrait he made, photographed in 2010.

Triegel himself doesn’t make a fuss about his conversion, although he recognises it is not something that happens every day. “You would not believe how often I have been asked over the past years, if I wanted to be baptised. There must have been telephone calls in higher Catholic circles, asking whether Triegel had already joined.” He was the atheist who painted the Pope, which made for juicy headlines. “Now I’m just an East German artist entering the Church. Also not exactly commonplace.”

What made him reach the momentous decision to receive the sacrament of Baptism was Benedict’s writings. “[These]  were important, his theory that faith and knowledge need not contradict each other. For me that was the breaking point. […] I foudn that faith entered my heart via my mind.”

Like I said, a recognisable story. My introduction to the faith and subsequent entrance into the Church coincided almost exactly with the start of the pontificate of Benedict XVI. He was elected in April of 2005, I first attended Mass in that year’s Advent. His magisterium has been instrumental in my discovery of the Church and the faith, and so also my personal development as a Catholic. Mr. Triegel’s “breaking point”, that faith and knowledge need not contradict each other, was also a major discovery for me. It shone through in all I read from Pope Benedict XVI, especially when I started blogging in 2010.

On the occasion of his Baptism, Triegel said, “When one concerns itself for 30 years with the true, the good, the beautiful and even with religion, it can’t remain without any consequences whatsoever. For me, now is the time to be baptised.”

[EDIT} I have added a translation of the complete interview that Michael Triegel gave to Die Zeit.

“I need you, I need you all” – Bishop Voderholzer consecrated in Regensburg

“To have faith means: to make GOD great, to let HIM be great. I see this as the first and most important task for us Christians in our country’s present and its future. That is the most important service which we, as Church, have to offer the people.

Dear fathers, dear mothers, let God be great amid your family, so that your children can grow up in the security of His love.

Dear priests and religious, who have come in such great numbers, who give a witness of the Gospel by your way of life: strengthen the people in the faith and be bridge builders with me for God’s presence in our entire world.

Dear sisters and brothers, who do your work as craftsmen, industrial labourers, farmers, civil servants, politicians, entrepeneurs or whatever: let God be great in your daily work, to the glory of God and the good of the people.

Through your Baptism and Confirmation you all share in the life of Christ and in His mission as teacher, shepherd and priest. He has called and enabled us all to witness of Him; and especially where the Lord has placed us: in our jobs, our families, in business, in public life and indeed also in the office of bishop: various services, one mission, to make sure that God is made great. In this shared concern we are all Church!

As your new bishop, I am willing to lead in prayer and as first evangeliser. But I need you,  I need you all. It is not possible with you.”

A passage from the closing remarks of Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer at the end of the Mass in which he was consecrated and installed as the 78th bishop of Regensburg, yesterday. Doing the honours as consecrating bishop was Munich’s Cardinal Reinhard Marx, with Archbishop Gerhard Müller (emeritus of Regensburg) and Bishop František Radkovsky (ordinary of the neighbouring Czech Diocese of Plzeň) serving as co-consecrators.

More than 4,000 faithful, among them 400 priests, were present in the cathedral of St. Peter, as well as the basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady to the Ancient Chapel and the church of St. Johann, where a live broadcast of the three-hour Mass was shown. It was also shown live on Bavarian television.

Looking back at the year: 2012 in review

It’s been quite the year for the Church in the world, in the Netherlands and here on the blog. In this post, I want to look back briefly on what has transpired. What happened before will, in many cases, have its effect on what will happen in the coming year.

The variety of events has been great, but if we had to characterise 2012, we can of course list the major stories: the two consistories for the creation of new cardinals, the ongoing abuse crisis and the efforts in the Netherlands and Rome to deal with it, the Synod of Bishops, the start of the Year of Faith, the retirements, appointments and deaths, the local stories in my neck of the woods and the (mis)representation of the Church in the wider world. These can all characterise the year for the Catholic Church. But since there are as many interpretations as there are readers, I’ll limit myself to presenting the major stories on my blog per month.

For this blog, it has been a good year. With 87,017 views it has been the best year yet, and I am happy to note that I have been able to provide stories, opinions and translations that have been picked up well by other bloggers and media. The pope’s letter to the German bishops on the new translation of the Roman missal, for which I was able to create an English working translation; the Dutch translation of the Christmas address to the Curia; a German interview with Archbishop Müller and my list of surviving Vatican II Council Fathers are examples of this. Both local and international media picked these up, resulting in increased interest for my blog. For that, thank you.

But now, let’s once more go over 2012 and look back on what happened in that year:

January:
– Pope Benedict announces a consistory. The list of 22 new cardinals includes the archbishop of Utrecht.
– CDF releases a note with recommendations for the Year of Faith.
– Archbishop Tscherrig (pictured) leaves Scandinavia for Argentina.
– Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun turns 80.
– In the abuse crisis, soon-to-be Cardinal Eijk speaks before a parliamentary commission.
– Bishop Jan Liesen is installed as bishop of Breda (Installation homily here).

February:
– Dutch-born South-African Bishop Everardus Baaij passes away.
– Cardinal Levada opens a major symposium on sexual abuse in Rome.
– At the same symposium, Msgr. Charles Scicluna tells it like it is.
– The bishops of Belgium reply to a modernist movement among priests and laity.
– Cardinal-designate Eijk is interviewed by Zenit.
– Cardinal-designate Dolan delivers a landmark address about the new evangelisation.
– 22 new cardinals are created in the consistory of 18 February (new Cardinal Eijk pictured).
– Responsibilities within the Dutch bishops’ conference are reshuffled.
– In Germany, Bishop Reinelt retires.
– Dominik Schwaderlapp is appointed as auxiliary bishop of Cologne.
– In Mainz, Bishop Guballa passes away after a long sickbed.
– Cardinal Eijk returns home with a pastoral letter on the Eucharist.

March:
– Cardinal Eijk announces that he will be keeping a closer eye on the celebration of the liturgy.
– Cardinal Quezada Toruño turns 80.
– Cardinal Sánchez passes away.
– Cardinal Simonis speaks to Zenit about the Second Vatican Council.
– Copenhagen’s Bishop emeritus Martensen passes away.
– The Dutch bishops respond to a new horrible chapter in the abuse crisis.
– Coptic Pope Shenouda II (pictured) passes away.
– The Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam makes public all the cases concerning sexual abuse by clergy.
– A new presidency for the COMECE.
– The Dutch bishops issue a letter concerning the celebration of the Easter Triduum, and the need to return its focus to the Eucharist.
– Pope Benedict visits Mexico and Cuba.
– Bishop Schwaderlapp is consecrated.

April:
– Cardinal Egan turns 80.
– In the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, the vicar general announces he will enter a monastery.
– In a letter to parliament, The Dutch bishops outline four developments in the fight against sexual abuse.
– Pope Benedict directly addresses groups of disobedient priests and laity.
– Cardinal Daoud passes away.
– Cardinal Eijk reveals a monument for victims of sexual abuse in the Church.
– Cardinal Aponte Martínez (pictured) passes away.
– A parliamentary committee hears the ‘contact group’ for victims of sexual abuse.
– The Dutch chapter of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem invests new members in the cathedral of Groningen-Leeuwarden.
– Pope Benedict writes a letter to the German bishops and enters the debate about the new German translation of the Roman Missal.

May:
– After 66 years, the Belorussian Diocese of Pinsk finally gets a new bishop.
– A new page on the blog, about my conversion story.
– The annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Garden Enclosed takes place.
– Cardinal Vlk turns 80.
– Cardinal Eijk takes possession if his title church.
– The Deetman Commission undertakes a new abuse investigation, this time into the abuse suffered by women.
– Berlin’s Cardinal Woelki is misunderstood about homosexuality.
– The cathedral of St. Joseph receives a new altar (Bishop de Korte anointing it pictured) and marks the 125th anniversary of its consecration.

June:
– Pope Benedict XVI visits Milan.
– New priests.
– Cardinal Quezada Toruño passes away.
– Florian Wörner is appointed as auxiliary bishop of Augsburg.
– The bishops of Roermond publish a brochure about Communion.
– The Dutch bishops follow suit with a letter about the same topic.
– Cardinal Schwery turns 80.
– The Instrumentum laboris of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation is published.
– The logo for the Year of Faith is revealed (pictured).
– A round of personnel changes in the Curia.
– Dutch Father Louis Tijssen is declared venerable.
– Archbishop Nowacki is appointed as the new nuncio to Scandinavia.
– The Heel abuse affair breaks.
– President-Delegates are appointed for the Synod.

July:
– Archbishop Müller (pictured) is appointed as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
– About half of the world’s bishops’ conferences have formulated guidelines against sexual abuse.
– Cardinal de Araújo Sales passes away.
– Bishop Borys Gudziak is appointed as Apostolic Exarch of France.
– Cardinal Stafford turns 80.

August:
– Bishop Wörner is consecrated, while Bishops Wehrle and Siebler retire.
– The Diocese of Rotterdam publishes a Prayer for Faith.
– Cardinal Rosales turns 80.
– Cardinal Shan Kuo-Hsi passes away.
– Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor turns 80.
– A Dutch priest’s apparent refusal to baptise the child of a lesbian couple fails to escalate much.
– Cardinal Martini (pictured) passes away.

September:
– Cardinal Martini’s last interview causes some debate.
– Bishop de Korte marks the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
– Rumours surface that priests in the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden are unhappy with their new appointments.
– Elections in the Netherlands result in a loss for the Christian parties.
– Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz turns 80.
– Pope Benedict (pictured) visits Lebanon.
– Misunderstandings about ecumenism in the Diocese of ‘s Hertogenbosch.
– Pope Benedict XVI appoints 36 Synod Fathers.
– Cardinal Baldelli passes away.
– Questions arise about the German ‘Church tax’.
– The first progress report on how the Church deals with abuse claims is released.

October:
– German Bishops Wanke and Schraml retire.
– Dutch missionary Bishop Joseph Willigers passes away.
– Morocco does not take kindly to the arrival of a Dutch ‘abortion boat’.
– Vatican Promotor of Justice Charles Scicluna is recalled to Malta to become auxiliary bishop.
– The Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation begins (pictured).
– Cardinal Erdö outlines eleven points for the new evangelisation of Europe.
– Belgian Curial Bishop Frans Daneels is made an archbishop.
– The Year of Faith begins.
– Pope Benedict announces a small consistory for November.
– The Synod of Bishops closes.
– An attempt at stopping liturgical abusive carnival Masses in Eindhoven.
– Amsterdam’s St. Nicholas church is to be made a basilica.

November:
– Cardinal Arinze turns 80.
– Bishop Demming passes away.
– New sexual abuse accusations surface in Iceland against Bishop Gijsen.
– Liège’s Bishop Jousten retires.
– At Rolduc, Dutch seminarians attend a conference on new evangelisation.
– Bishop Michael Hrynchyshyn passes away.
– Hermit Brother Hugo makes his perpetual vows (pictured).
– The student chaplaincy in Tilburg is brought back into the Catholic fold.
– European intolerance towards religion on display in Slovakia.
– Cardinal Martino turns 80.
– Pope Benedict XVI creates six new cardinals.
– Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe speaks about the ‘official Church’.

December:
– Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer is appointed as bishop of Regensburg.
– Dutch missionary Bishop Wilhelmus Demarteau passes away.
– Dutch government announces pulling the plug on small religious broadcasters.
– Georg Gänswein is appointed as Prefect of the Papal Household and will be made an archbishop.
– Cardinal Scheid turns 80.
– Pope Benedict enters the Twitterverse (pictured).
– Pope Benedict publishes the Apostolic Letter on charity, Intima Ecclesiae natura.
– Dutch media totally misrepresent the pope on the family and gender.

That was 2012. Now let’s get 2013 started. Happy new year!