Frans Wiertz

Franciscus Jozef Maria (Frans) Wiertz (December 2, 1942) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of Roermond from 1993 until 2017.[1]

His Excellency

Franciscus J. M. Wiertz
Frans Wiertz in 2016
Native name
Frans
ProvinceUtrecht
DioceseRoman Catholic Diocese of Roermond
Appointed10 July 1993
Term ended2 December 2017
PredecessorJoannes Gijsen
SuccessorHarrie Smeets
Orders
OrdinationMarch 30, 1968
by Petrus Moors
ConsecrationSeptember 25, 1993
by Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis
Personal details
Birth nameFranciscus Jozef Maria Wiertz
Born (1942-12-02) December 2, 1942
Kerkrade, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
DenominationRoman Catholic
MottoGeef, Heer, liefde en geloof aan uw Kerk English: Give, Lord, love and faith to your Church
Coat of arms

Early life

Born in Kerkrade as the oldest in a family of nine, Wiertz studied at the Minor seminary Rolduc, from where he graduated in 1961, having passed his state examinations. He studied history for a year at the Radboud University Nijmegen, before starting his studies to become a priest in 1962 in Kerkrade and Heerlen. He studied at the seminary in Roermond starting in 1964.

Priesthood

Wiertz was ordained deacon on September 23, 1967, and ordained to the priesthood on March 30, 1968, by Petrus Moors, bishop of Roermond. He worked as a chaplain at the saints Peter and Paul parish in Schaesberg, before being asked to build a church and to start a new parish for the new neighbourhood De Heeg in Maastricht in 1977; the saints Monulph and Gondulph parish. In 1981 he was installed there as priest, which he would remain until 1985, when he became dean of the deanery of Hoensbroek and priest of the saint John the Evangelist parish in Hoensbroek. In 1991 he became dean of the deanery of Heerlen, succeeding Jos Punt, the later bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam, and also became priest of the saint Pancras parish in Heerlen. In that same year he was also named a canon of the Roermond chapter, of which he became chairman in 1992.[1]

Bishop of Roermond

In 1993 bishop Joannes Gijsen of Roermond stepped down due to declining health. On July 10, 1993, Wiertz was appointed bishop of Roermond. He received his episcopal consecration on September 25 of that year, from Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis, archbishop of Utrecht, with the bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch, Joannes Gerardus ter Schure, and the auxiliary bishop of Roermond, Alphonsus Maria Henricus Antonius Castermans, serving as co-consecrators. He chose the motto Geef, Heer, liefde en geloof aan uw Kerk (English: Give, Lord, love and faith to your Church).[1]

As a bishop he was principal consecrator of bishop Everardus Johannes de Jong, and principal co-consecrator of bishops Jozef Marianus Punt, Antonius Lambertus Maria Hurkmans, Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk, Johannes Wilhelmus Maria Liesen and Robertus Gerardus Leonia Maria Mutsaerts.[2]

Wiertz was vice-chairman of the Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands, in charge of communications and media.[3]

Sexual abuse

In 2014 two complaints against Wiertz's predecessor in the diocese of Roermond, Joannes Gijsen, for sexual abuse dating from the period 1958–1961, were deemed valid by the complaints commission of the Catholic Church.[4][5][6] The determination that complaints were valid was the first time against a Dutch bishop. Wiertz apologized for Gijsen's behaviour.[5]

In the late 2010s it became known to the public that Wiertz had appointed two pastors who were known to Wierts to have a history of abusing youngsters. One of the pastors repeated his offences, for which he was transferred to another parish.[7]

Retirement

On 2 December 2017 Wiertz retired as bishop of Roermond upon reaching the age of 75 years, the retirement age for priests, stating that increasing loss of eyesight was limiting his work.[8] The cathedral chapter made three unanimous suggestions to the nuntius to fill the vacancy, which were rejected. This was followed by a vacancy of a year, during which vicar general Hub Schnackers acted as diocesan administrator. On 8 December 2018 Harrie Smeets, dean of the deanery of Venray and a member of the cathedral chapter, was appointed bishop of Roermond.[9] After his retirement Wiertz settled in Maastricht and remains part of the administration of the diocese of Roermond as bishop emeritus.[10]

References
  1. "Curriculum vitae bisschop F. Wiertz". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  2. "Entry about Frans Wiertz at catholic-hierarchy.org". Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  3. "Eijk en Wiertz bij inauguratie". Telegraaf. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. Bert van Doorn (11 April 2014). "Oud-bisschop Jo Gijsen betastte geslachtsdelen jongens" (in Dutch). Omroep Brabant. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  5. Anna Vossers (11 April 2014). "Bisdom Roermond erkent misbruik door bisschop Jo Gijsen" (in Dutch). Elsevier. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  6. "Klachtencommissie verklaart misbruikklachten Gijsen 'gegrond'" (in Dutch). Katholiek Nieuwsblad. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. Ook in Nederland hielden bisschoppen en kardinalen misbruik in stand. NRC, 14 september 2018
  8. Pastoor Paul Janssen: 'Bisschop? Ik blijf liever pastoor in Deurne', Eindhovens Dagblad, 18 October 2017
  9. Deken Smeets van Venray wordt bisschop van Roermond, De Limburger, 10 October 2018
  10. Administration, website of the diocese of Roermond, reviewed on 1 April 2019
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