Dutch Cardinal emeritus Adrianus Simonis dies at age 88

THE HAGUE (NETHERLANDS)
Associated Press

September 2, 2020

Cardinal emeritus Adrianus Simonis, who led the Dutch Catholic Church during a period of secularization in society and, after his retirement, had to confront abuse in the church, has died at age 88, his former archdiocese of Utrecht announced Wednesday.

His successor, Cardinal Willem Eijk, said the church had lost someone “with a great pastoral heart.”

Simonis was named bishop of the port city of Rotterdam in 1970 and became Archbishop of Utrecht in 1983. Pope John Paul II appointed him a cardinal on May 25, 1985. The pope accepted his retirement in 2007 and he became a cardinal emeritus the following year.

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