Netherlands: Bishops’ Conference, a “national synodal workgroup” set up. Material sent to Catholic parishes and associations

As from mid-February, the Catholic parishes, communities and associations of the Netherlands will receive a few tools to continue the discussion on the topics of the World Synod of the Church. Actually, the Bishops’ Conference of the Netherlands has set up a “national synodal workgroup” and charged it with continuing the synodal process in the Dutch ecclesiastical province. So, the local communities will receive material about the summary document published after the October 2023 session, also translated into Dutch, which will help the groups foster dialogue and exchanges of views. Membership of the workgroup “is as wide and synodal as possible”, a notice on the Bishops’ website explains: the members include, on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference, the president, mgr. Hans van den Hende, and the auxiliary bishop of Utrecht, Theodor Hoogenboom, Pascale Fourmentin, Abbess of the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningsoord, on behalf of the Conference of Religious of the Netherlands, and then Karim Schelkens, dean of the Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, the Dominican friar Richard Steenvoorde, Ms L. van Oordt, the lay Dominican Karin Bornhijm, the rector of the Major Seminary of Rolduc, father Lambert Hendriks.
Valentina Bombelli