Faithful Bishop Quits

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's-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands (ChurchMilitant.com) - An orthodox bishop who slammed the Amazon Synod for making "a mockery of the Faith" has resigned as auxiliary to an ultra-progressive diocesan bishop who opened his cathedral for a "Pink Saturday" LGBT event.

Auxiliary bishop of the diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch Rob Mutsaerts released a letter signed jointly with his diocesan prelate Gerard de Korte, stating differences "in our view of developments within the Church."

"We prefer other accents when it comes to the administration of the diocese," the two bishops noted, as Msgr. Mutsaerts announced he was resigning "some of his administrative functions at the diocesan level."

"In our conversations, it became clear that it is better for the auxiliary bishop if he no longer has to bear partial administrative responsibility at the level of the diocese," Bp. de Korte wrote in the letter, after a series of in-depth conversations with Bp. Mutsaerts.

Bishop de Korte noted that Msgr. Mutsaerts had asked to be released from "some of his administrative functions at the diocesan level."

"Specifically, this means that the auxiliary bishop will no longer be a member of the staff of the diocese and the priestly council. He also requested that he no longer be required to attend chapter meetings," Bp. de Korte clarified.

'Grave Issues of Doctrine and Morality'

"We have both decided that we do not want to discuss the reason and content of our conversations about the request of Msgr. Mutsaerts," de Korte insisted.

However, Church Militant has learned from very knowledgable sources that the breakdown was not the result of minor administrative matters or issues regarding diocesan policy but grave issues of doctrine and morality.

In the latest issue of Purple Peppers, Mutsaerts tells the story of his childhood friend Job, who, he writes, "was unfortunate enough to end up at a Catholic school where hippies, modernist nuns and retired priests taught the ... Catholic youth to reject Church teaching on sexuality, the virginity of Mary, the resurrection of Jesus and the infallibility of the pope."

"Between showing recruiting films for the Sandinistas, praising Che Guevara and dismissing Pope John Paul II as a shabby Polish plumber, Job was told that the ecclesiastical view of contraception is really criminal in an overcrowded world," Mutsaerts writes.

When Job complained about the liberal teaching, he was summoned to the principal's office and interrogated by all three teachers of the school's philosophy of life course as well as a priest who had been summoned by the school management.

"Job, you are friends with Rob. If you are so unhappy with our way of teaching, why don't you consider going to another school?" the principal asked. Job shot back at the principal: "If you are so unhappy with the content of the Catholic faith, why don't you consider looking for another job?"

"Then there was an awkward silence," Bp. Mutsaerts narrates.

Amazon Synod and Other Heterodoxy

Mutsaerts also censured the Amazon Synod in his blogs. "Whereas our vocabulary once consisted of words such as 'our Mother the Church,' 'hellfire,' and 'virtues,' now it's all about Mother Earth, Amazonian fires and ecology," he wrote.

Calling the synod "the most politically correct meeting of all time" and warning that it had opened a "Pandora's box" of theological innovations, Mutsaerts remarked: "It's a relief Greta Thunberg has not yet been chosen to be a cardinal. Is there anyone left who is actually worried about saving souls? But isn't that why Christ died on the Cross?"

Sources said that Bp. de Korte would have read the blog and other similar columns penned by his auxiliary as an attack on his heterodoxy, particularly against the diocesan bishop's pro-gay agenda.

Earlier, Mutsaerts wrote: "They want to change the doctrine on homosexuality not because they want to be merciful toward the heavy burden of sin, but to say sin is no longer sin."

In 2019, Bp. de Korte attacked one of his orthodox priests, Fr. Cor Mennen, for criticizing "idolatrous ceremony" of Pachamama during as the "summit of deviation from the will of God."

Mennen added that this was no "superficial error" on the part of the pope because he had signed the Abu Dhabi document stating that the "diversity of religions" is "willed by God."

However, de Korte commended the synod for exploring how "pre-Christian" religions of the Amazon could be "linked to Catholicism."

Collision Course

A leftwing Dutch newspaper observed that the two bishops had been "on a collision course for some time." The publication praised de Korte as a "bridge-builder" while attacking Mutsaerts as a "pencil sharpener" for his "pointed and sharply worded blogs."

"Even though Mutsaerts streamlined the diocese, Pope Francis decided not to promote the auxiliary bishop in 2016 but brought Gerard de Korte from Groningen to exchange the smallest diocese in the country for the largest," the newspaper reported.

In 2017, Church Militant reported on de Korte's decision to host a 'Pink Saturday' (Roze Zaterdag) LGBT ecumenical celebration at the cathedral of the diocese on June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist. The bishop later withdrew after mounting pressure from a large section of his clergy and a number of local Catholics.

Mutsaerts will remain acting dean of Druten-Wijchen, acting pastor of St. Stephen's parish in Nijmegen and will continue his pastoral duties.

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