Leo XIV Appoints Dutch Bishop: He Supports Lay-Led Sunday Services, Open to Married Priests

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Leo XIV Appoints Dutch Bishop: He Supports Lay-Led Sunday Services, Open to Married Priests

gloria.tv | July 8, 2025

Pope Leo XIV appointed on July 7 his first Dutch bishop: Monsignor Ronald Cornelissen, 60, as the sixth bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden.

Ordained a priest in October 1996, Monsignor Cornelissen has served in parishes within the Archdiocese of Utrecht for around 30 years. Since 2009, he has also held diocesan roles, including Regional Vicar of Deventer and Episcopal Vicar for Marriage and Family.

"I live for pastoral ministry and encounters," said Monsignor Cornelissen at yesterday's presentation in the cathedral and emphasised his commitment to being a "team player" and his optimism despite the decline of the Church. He supports synodal processes and ecumenical collaboration. His aim is to create a "welcoming Church" and "shape a Church for the future".

The Groningen diocese was established in 1956. With only around 100,000 Catholics, it is the smallest diocese in the Netherlands.

In an interview with Nd.nl on 7 July, the new bishop said that he wants to cooperate with the dominant Protestant communities: “It would be good if, as joint churches, we took a position on the two asylum laws passed by the House of Representatives, for example. As a church we are asked not to leave people in a pinch, on the margins, but rather to do something for them.”

Bishop Cornelissen wants to encourage the liturgical abuse of lay people leading services on Sundays: "In the north there are relatively few churches and few priests. It is important and very Catholic that people can receive communion regularly. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the practice of pastoral helpers leading celebrations will remain."

Regarding the ordination of married men, he said that it is a decision of the Church: “There are already married priests. In Utrecht, for example, we had a Reformed pastor [Martin Los] who became a Catholic. He is an old wise man who was married and ordained a priest, in that form it is already possible. Ultimately the decision is not mine, but it is a possibility.”

The Netherlands have seven bishops and three auxiliary bishops. The seven are: Ronald Cornelissen, 60, Ron van den Hout, 60, Hans van den Hende, 61, Jan Liesen, 64, Gerard de Korte, 70, Jan Hendriks, 70, and Cardinal Wim Eijk, 72.