Read and heed the following letter from Bishop Mutsaerts!
Let's see when this good bishop is laicized or declared in schism!
From lifesitenews.com and written by Antonino Cambria Fri Aug 14, 2026 - 6:31 pm EDT: Bishop Mutsaerts asks Pope Leo to focus on souls, not synodality in open letter - LifeSite
"(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) in the Netherlands, wrote an open letter to Pope Leo XIV 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 the August 13 open letter published on his blog, Mutsaerts, while stressing his fidelity to the Petrine office, emphasized several concerns, namely whether listening to thousands of bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful during the Synod on Synodality has led more people to conversion, to more priestly vocations, to deeper piety among the faithful, and ultimately drawn individuals closer to Christ.
The Dutch bishop highlighted how, historically, synods and “listening” were always considered a means to the end of the salvation of souls and implored the Holy Father to refocus his pontificate on proclaiming the clarity of Our Lord rather than overly focusing on “listening.”
Fruits of synodality
“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,” Bishop Mutsaerts 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.
The Church is not ‘democratic’
A bit later in his letter, Mutsaerts noted that while synods have existed since the time of the Apostles, classical synodality was a “means to an end,” that is, the salvation of souls. In contrast, the ongoing process of synodality “threatens to become an end in itself.”
“The Church is not a conversation but a received reality. For the Church does not begin with our dialogue. It begins with Christ. That sounds self-evident, but it has far-reaching consequences. Christ did not set up a discussion group. He called apostles. He gave them authority. He sent them out to proclaim, baptize, and teach: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,'” he wrote.
“The direction is fundamental in this regard. Faith does not arise because the Church first inventories what people believe and then distills a common conviction from all those experiences. Faith is received. Paul constantly uses words such as receive, hand down, and preserve for this. The Church possesses Revelation not because she conceived it, but because she received it,” he added.
The bishop underscored that “this means that Christianity cannot, in essence, be democratic,” and that truth is not “produced by consensus.”
“Not because democracy as a form of government is bad, but because truth does not arise by a majority vote. If tomorrow 90 percent of Catholics were no longer to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Christ would not be any less truly present,” he wrote. “If 80 percent reject a certain moral doctrine, that doctrine does not automatically become untrue. Truth is not produced by consensus. That constitutes the first major area of tension surrounding the synodal project.”
READ: Bishop Mutsaerts: Pro-LGBT ‘Catholics’ claim to be inclusive but are intolerant toward tradition
Overemphasis on affirming people instead of calling them to conversion
Mutsaerts also criticized the fact that the synodal process has focused more on affirming people in their beliefs and experiences rather than 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 seemingly 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 without qualification, claiming that “sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship” but in “a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfillment.”
Several other prominent Catholic clerics and thinkers 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.”
Prayer for Pope Leo’s pontificate to bring ‘clarity’ to Church
Mutsaerts concluded his letter by charitably imploring Pope Leo to focus on the salvation of souls amid the confusion of our world.
“I hope and pray that under your pontificate it may once again become visible with great clarity that the Church is not called to endlessly discuss itself, but to proclaim Christ; not to reflect the spirit of the age, but to lead the world toward eternal life,” he wrote.
“Precisely from the successor of Peter, the faithful may expect that, amidst the confusion of our time, he strengthens the brothers in faith. That he reminds us that the truth proclaimed by the Church is not a possession over which we can dispose at will, but a precious treasure that we have received and must pass on intact,” he added.
Mutsaerts continued:
My prayer to you is therefore simple: give us clarity. When the world speaks with uncertainty, let Peter speak clearly. When the Church grows weary of internal discussions, point us back to Christ. When we lose ourselves in processes and structures, remind us of our mission. When we become afraid to proclaim the Gospel in its fullness because it might offend modern man, remind us of the words of Peter himself: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’ Your words are words of eternal life.
The bishop offered his prayers that Leo’s pontificate be characterized by a renewed focus on “what ultimately forms the heart of every true ecclesial reform: Christ, conversion, holiness, the Eucharist, evangelization, and the salvation of souls.”
“For once all synods have concluded, all documents have been written, all committees have been dissolved, and our own names have been forgotten, only the question that truly matters remains: have we brought the people entrusted to our care closer to Jesus Christ?” he wrote.
“May Saint Peter intercede for you. May Our Lady, Mater Ecclesiae, keep you under her protection. And may the Lord grant you the wisdom, courage, and paternal determination to lead His Church in truth and love,” he concluded."'
To read Bishop Mutsaerts’ full open letter to Pope Leo XIV in English or the original Dutch, click here.
End of article...
Pray for this bishop -- for strength and honor; he'll need it!
Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun, and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...
St. Joseph, pray for us!!
Gene DeLalla
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