(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Gerard de Korte of s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) in the Netherlands criticized Auxiliary Bishop Robert Mutsaerts for publishing an open letter to Pope Leo XIV last week imploring the pontiff to consider the “fruits” of the Synod on Synodality and whether this process has truly helped to bring souls closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In a brief statement to the Dutch Catholic newspaper Nederlands Dagblad published August 14, Bishop De Korte lamented that Bishop Mutsaerts had not consulted him before publishing the open letter on his personal blog and said that the “proper course of action” would have been to send a personal note to Pope Leo.
In his August 13 open letter, the auxiliary bishop, while stressing his fidelity to the Petrine office, emphasized several concerns, namely, whether listening to thousands of people during the Synod on Synodality has led more individuals to conversion, to more priestly vocations, and to deeper piety among the faithful and ultimately drawn individuals closer to Christ.
“A personal letter to the pope would have been the proper course of action,” De Korte told the outlet.
“After all, an auxiliary bishop, in particular, has his own channels for communicating with the Bishop of Rome,” he added. “In any case, at the request of Pope Francis and Pope Leo, the Dutch bishops are continuing to build a synodal Church.”
Despite Bishop De Korte’s assertions, it is possible that Bishop Mutsaerts had previously written to Pope Leo without receiving a response. There’s also no rule requiring an auxiliary bishop to seek their ordinary’s express permission before communicating with the Holy Father, including via an open letter published online.
READ: Bishop Mutsaerts asks Pope Leo to focus on souls, not synodality in open letter
In fact, Canon 212 §3 states that all of the faithful, including auxiliary bishops, “have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors (including the pope) their views on matters which concern the good of the Church.”
The Canon goes on to state that, “They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ’s faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account both the common good and the dignity of individuals.”
In his open letter published the previous day, Bishop Mutsaerts urged the 267th pontiff to ponder whether the Synod and its implementation, with all its “dialogue,” have led to increased conversions, greater reverence for the Eucharist, or other good fruits.
“Whoever judges the Synod on Synodality solely on the basis of its own objectives can easily write a positive story. There was listening. There was speaking. Thousands of people were consulted. Bishops, priests, religious, and lay people gathered. There was talk of community, participation, and mission. A new ecclesiastical vocabulary even emerged: synodality, listening, discernment, participation, conversation in the Spirit, setting processes in motion,” His Excellency wrote.
The bishop continued:
But one can also view the same history from a completely different perspective. Let me just ask the uncomfortable question: What has all this actually yielded? Not: how many meetings were organized? Not: how many reports were written? Not: how many people participated? But: has faith become stronger? Has Christ been proclaimed more clearly? Has Catholic identity deepened? Have more people come to conversion? Is Sunday Mass better attended? Are there more priestly vocations? Has catechesis become more powerful? Has greater reverence for the Eucharist emerged? Has the moral teaching of the Church become clearer? Has missionary courage increased?
When one asks such questions, it is impossible to consider the Synod a success.
Later in his letter, Bishop Mutsaerts also criticized the synodal process for focusing more on affirming people in their beliefs and experiences than on calling them to repentance and conversion.
“The Church does not exist primarily to affirm people in what they already are. It exists to bring them to Christ,” the bishop said. “The first words of Jesus’ public preaching are not: ‘Tell Me first how you feel about the current church structures.’ But ‘Repent and believe in the Good News.’ That is considerably less bureaucratic. And considerably more radical.”
“The Church of the Martyrs did not change the Roman world by organizing listening meetings on the question of how Romans could experience the Christian community more inclusively. She proclaimed Christ. Peter proclaimed Christ. Paul proclaimed Christ,” His Excellency added. “(Saint) Francis proclaimed Christ. (Saint) Dominic proclaimed Christ. (Saint) Francis Xavier proclaimed Christ. (Saint) John Mary Vianney proclaimed Christ. (Saint) Mother Teresa proclaimed Christ. (Saint) John Paul II proclaimed Christ. They undoubtedly listened to people. But listening was never the endpoint. The endpoint was conversion to Christ.”
Indeed, one of the main criticisms of the Synod on Synodality and its implementation has been its overemphasis on “listening” while failing to call participants to conversion.
In May, a clear example of synodality’s hyper-focus on “listening” emerged when Synod Study group 9 released a heretical report that scandalously endorsed testimony from two homosexual activists associated with heterodox Father James Martin, claiming that “sin, at its root, does not consist in the (homosexual) relationship” but in “a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfillment.”
Several other prominent Catholic clerics and writers have also repeatedly slammed the process of synodality. During a July interview, Cardinal Raymond Burke delivered an especially forceful critique of the Vatican’s ongoing focus on synodality, calling for it to be halted and subjected to rigorous study.
READ: Cardinal Burke: Synodality ‘has to be stopped’ and thoroughly reexamined
“We have to insist that this whole synodality business stop,” the cardinal declared. “And there be a very serious study done of the whole matter because we’re talking about the very life of the Church and we’re talking about the salvation of souls.”
To read Bishop Mutsaerts’ full open letter to Pope Leo XIV in English or the original Dutch, click here.