Bishop Rob Mutsaerts says ‘The missing words in the Synod are repentance and conversion’
He has also been a forceful voice against the tides of Dutch secularism in a country that has experienced some of the more pernicious elements of the trend. In the Netherlands, the lives of newborns and children under 12 can be deliberately ended without an affirmative request from the child under strictly defined circumstances, while euthanasia can be administered to those aged 12 and over in cases of psychiatric suffering. Almost 60 per cent of the country reports no religious affiliation, while Islam is the fastest-growing major religion, with more than twice as many 15–17-year-olds identifying as Muslim (14.2 per cent) as Catholic (6.9 per cent). Against this backdrop, His Grace has worked tirelessly, writing numerous spiritual works and encouraging conversions, work that is bearing fruit in a country that saw a 40 per cent increase in adult baptisms in 2024.
In this exclusive interview, Bishop Mutsaerts shares with AdVaticanum his reflections on a recent open letter he wrote to Pope Leo XIV, his views on the synodal process and how he sees the Church in the Netherlands.
AV: In your recent open letter to Pope Leo XIV, you write that judging the synodal process by its own internal metrics (listening, participation, documents) can produce a positive narrative, but that the real tests are stronger faith, clearer proclamation of Christ, deeper Catholic identity, more conversions, higher Sunday Mass attendance, etc. Could you walk us through how you arrived at that list of criteria?
+RM: The final canon of the Code of Canon Law ends with the famous principle that “the salvation of souls … must always be the supreme law in the Church” (salus animarum … suprema semper lex esse debet, can. 1752). If one evaluates the synodal process, the decisive question is not whether ...
>>EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Bishop Rob Mutsaerts says …