Bishop Mutsaerts: “Ecclesiastical appointments can be foolish.”
Dutch Auxiliary Bishop Rob Mutsaerts answered the uncomfortable question “How about Rome?” at the Catholic Identity Conference in Pittsburgh on October 3.
“Rome needs reform sometimes too,” he said.
“The Curia is not the Mystical Body of Christ, Vatican diplomacy is not divine revelation, and the dicastery is not protected by the charism of infallibility in every decision. Ecclesiastical appointments can be foolish and bishops can be cowardly and pastoral strategies can fail.”
And: “Catholic loyalty therefore does not require pretending that every decision made in Rome is wise.”
Turning to synodality, Mutsaerts invoked the collapse of Dutch Catholicism: “I’m Dutch and we started this nonsense in the ’60s already.”
His verdict: “Show me the fruits. There aren’t any.”