Wim Eijk
{{Short description|Dutch Catholic prelate (born 1953)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = cardinal
| honorific-prefix = His Eminence
| name = Willem Jacobus Eijk
| honorific-suffix =
| title = {{Ubl
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Utrecht
}}
| image = Willem Eijk (2020).jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| caption = Cardinal Eijk in 2020.
| church = Catholic
| archdiocese = Utrecht
| province =
| metropolis =
| diocese =
| see = Utrecht
| appointed = 11 December 2007
| term_start = 26 January 2008
| ended =
| predecessor = Adrianus Johannes Simonis
| opposed =
| successor =
| other_post = {{Ubl
| President of the Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands
| Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto
}}
| ordination = 1 June 1985
| ordained_by = Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen
| consecration = 6 November 1999
| consecrated_by = Adrianus Johannes Simonis
| cardinal = 18 February 2012
| created_cardinal_by = Benedict XVI
| rank = Cardinal-Priest
| previous_post = Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden
| birth_name = Willem Jacobus Eijk
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|06|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Duivendrecht, Netherlands
| death_date =
| death_place =
| buried =
| religion =
| residence =
| parents =
| education = {{unbulleted list
| University of Amsterdam (Medicine)
| Rolduc (Seminary)
| Leiden University (MD, Medicine)
| Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (PhD, Philosophy)
| Pontifical Lateran University (Licentiate, Theology)
}}
| signature =
| motto = {{br list | {{Lang|la|Noli Recusare Laborem}} | (Do Not Reject the Work)}}
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Willem Jacobus Eijk.svg
}}{{Infobox cardinal styles
| archbishop name = Willem Eijk
| dipstyle = His Eminence
| offstyle = Your Eminence
| relstyle = Cardinal
| image = Coat of arms of Willem Jacobus Eijk.svg
| image_size = 200px
}}
{{Ordination
| consecrated by = Adrianus Johannes Simonis
| co-consecrators = {{Ubl
| Franciscus Jozef Maria Wiertz
}}
| date of consecration = 6 November 1999
| bishop 1 = Herman Woorts
| consecration date 1 = 13 February 2010
| bishop 2 = Ted Hoogenboom
| consecration date 2 = 13 February 2010
}}
Willem Jacobus "Wim" Eijk (born 22 June 1953) is a Dutch prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012. He has been the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht since 2007. He was Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden from 1999 to 2007. Before his clerical career he worked as a medical doctor; as a priest he made medical ethics the focus of his academic studies. He has done his doctoral studies in medicine and philosophy, and also holds a licentiate in theology.{{Cite web |title=RINUNCE E NOMINE |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2007/12/11/0660/01774.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=press.vatican.va}}
Early life and studies
Willem Jacobus Eijk was born on 22 June 1953 in Duivendrecht, North Holland, Netherlands and was raised by a Protestant father and a Catholic mother.
Eijk studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam and received his degree in 1978. In 1978 and 1979 he worked as a doctor specializing in internal medicine. He studied for the priesthood at the seminary of Rolduc in Kerkrade. Beginning in 1979 he combined his theological formation with the study of medical ethics at Leiden University. He was ordained to priesthood in 1985 and was incardinated in the Diocese of Roermond. Then he went to work as a curate in the parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Venlo Blerick.
In 1987 he earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of Leiden, with a dissertation about euthanasia. In 1990 he completed a PhD in philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) with a dissertation entitled The ethical problems of genetic engineering of human beings.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Eijk also earned a licentiate in moral theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. At the same time he taught moral theology at the seminary of Rolduc. From 1996, Eijk was professor of moral theology in pontifical Faculty of Theology in Lugano, Switzerland. From 1997 to 1999 he was a member of the International Theological Commission.
Bishop and Archbishop
File:Wim Eijk, Karel Kasteel.jpg
Eijk was appointed Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden on 17 July 1999 and consecrated a bishop on 6 November. He chose the motto {{Lang|la|Noli recusare laborem}} ("Do not reject the work"), taken from the last words of Martin of Tours.{{cite news |work=Zenit | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=https://zenit.org/articles/cardinal-designate-eijk-doctor-defender-of-life/ |title=Cardinal-designate Eijk: Doctor, Defender of Life |date=14 February 2012 |first=Paola |last=De Groot-Testoni}} As bishop he restricted the role of the laity in church services in comparison with past practice.{{cite news |url=https://www.rtvutrecht.nl/nieuws/173187 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |date=11 December 2007 |title=Opvolger Simonis bekend: Wie is bisschop Eijk? |publisher=RTV Utrecht |language=nl}} In 2001 Wim Eijk suffered from a subdural hematoma from which he fully recovered.
Pope John Paul II named him a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life on 4 August 2004{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 04.08.2004 |date=4 August 2007 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2004/08/04/0384/01232.html |language=it}} and a member of its governing council on 23 March 2005.{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 23.03.2005 |date=23 March 2005 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2005/03/23/0158/00340.html |language=it}}
On 11 December 2007 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Eijk the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht
{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 11.12.2007 |date=11 December 2007 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2007/12/11/0660/01774.html |language=it}} On 26 January 2008 he was installed in St. Catharine's Cathedral in Utrecht. He is the 70th successor of Saint Willibrord (658–739) as head of that see.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
In May 2008 Pope Benedict appointed Eijk a member of the Congregation for the Clergy.{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 06.05.2008 |date=6 May 2008 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2008/05/06/0297/00685.html |language=it}}
He co-edited the Manual of Catholic Medical Ethics: Responsible Healthcare from a Catholic Perspective, published in 2010.Manual of Catholic Medical Ethics: Responsible Healthcare from a Catholic Perspective, ed. W.J. Eijk, L.M. Hendriks, J.A. Raymakers, and John I. Fleming (English Edition). Translated by Sr. M. Regina van den Berg, J. A. Raymakers (Ballarat: Connor
Court Publishing, 2014), 629 pp. + Appendixes.
He was elected president of the Episcopal Conference of the Netherlands in 2011.{{cite web| access-date = 6 December 2017 |title=Eijk Card. Willem Jacobus |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_eijk_wj.html | url-status=live | archive-date= 15 October 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171015095221/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_eijk_wj.html}}
On 18 February 2012, Pope Benedict XVI made Eijk a cardinal along with 21 others.{{cite news |title=List of new cardinals named by Pope Benedict |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/pope-cardinals-list-idINDEE8050CK20120106 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082202/http://in.reuters.com/article/pope-cardinals-list-idINDEE8050CK20120106 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2016 |work=Reuters |date=6 January 2012 |access-date=1 February 2012}} He was created Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto.{{cite news |title=Churches Assigned to New Cardinals |url=https://zenit.org/articles/churches-assigned-to-new-cardinals/ |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=Zenit |date=20 February 2012}} On 21 April he was named a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 21.04.2012 |date=21 April 2012 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2012/04/21/0225/00521.html |language=it}} He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.{{cite news |title=List of Cardinal Electors |url=https://zenit.org/articles/list-of-cardinal-electors/ |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=Zenit |date=12 March 2013}}
Pope Francis named him a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on 6 February 2014.{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 06.02.2014 |date=6 February 2014 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2014/02/06/0088/00186.html |language=it}}
In late 2013 Pope Francis agreed to a one-day visit to Amsterdam, a city omitted from Pope John Paul's visit to the Netherlands in 1985, but allegedly Eijk blocked the formal invitation, afraid that there would not be enough enthusiast Dutch followers to give the Pope a worthy welcome.{{cite news |url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/kardinaal-eijk-blokkeert-bezoek-paus-franciscus~a9e61ce7/ |access-date= 29 April 2025 |date=1 February 2014 |title=Kardinaal Eijk blokkeert bezoek paus Franciscus | trans-title= Cardinal blocks Pope Francis visit |work=Trouw |first=Emiel |last=Hakkenes}}
As Archbishop of Utrecht, he has recommended a restructuring of the diocese's 326 parishes into 48 territories, following a pattern throughout Europe in the face of shrinking church attendance. He has insisted of that plan despite some popular resistance. He said: "When I spoke to the pope, I warned that old church structures wouldn't exist by the time I retired – and that by 2025 two-thirds of our churches would have been withdrawn from divine worship.{{cite news |last1=Luxmoore |first1=Jonathan |title=Europe's church creatively rethinks as numbers plummet |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/europes-church-creatively-rethinks-numbers-plummet |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=National Catholic Reporter |date=15 November 2017}}
He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.{{cite web| url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html| title=Cardinal Electors|date=6 May 2025|publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|language=en|access-date=6 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506193115/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html|archive-date=6 May 2025|url-status=live}}
=Positions=
In June 2015 Eijk ordered the removal of Rhianna Gralike, the transgender treasurer of the Norbertus Parish for eastern Flevoland and Northern Veluwe, over the objections of the parish board.{{cite news |title=Kardinaal Eijk wil af van transseksuele boekhouder |url=https://www.gelderlander.nl/binnenland/kardinaal-eijk-wil-af-van-transseksuele-boekhouder~ae18dd73/ |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=de Gelderlander |date=6 July 2015 |language=nl}}{{cite news |title=Uit kerk verbannen transgender gaat niet in op uitnodiging kardinaal |url=https://www.gelderlander.nl/oost-gelre/uit-kerk-verbannen-transgender-gaat-niet-in-op-uitnodiging-kardinaal~a28cc9ed/ |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=de Gelderlander |date=29 June 2015 |language=nl}}
In 2015 Eijk was elected to represent the Episcopal Conference of the Netherlands at the Synod Bishops on the Family in October.{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |title=XIV Assemblea Generale Ordinaria del Sinodo dei Vescovi (4-25 ottobre 2015) – Elenco dei Partecipanti, 15.09.2015 |date=5 October 2015 | access-date= 7 May 2018 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2015/09/15/0676/01469.html |language=it}} In advance of the Synod he published an essay stating that couples entering into a civil remarriage without having received annulments of earlier marriages represent "a form of structured and institutionalized adultery."{{cite news |first1=Joshua J. |last1=McElwee |first2=Dennis |last2=Coday |title=Synod to be culmination of two years' preparation, consultation |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/synod-be-culmination-two-years-preparation-consultation |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=National Catholic Reporter |date=2 October 2015}} Following the synod, he became a critic of Pope Francis' Amoris laetitia. In 2018, he said the document had "caused doubt to be sown" and said Francis should state more clearly that marriage is "one and unbreakable" and that a Catholic who remarries after divorce must be denied Communion.{{cite news |last1=San Martín |first1=Inés |title=Once again, bishops around the world differ on 'Amoris' |url=https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/02/01/bishops-around-world-differ-amoris/ |access-date=7 May 2018 |work=Crux |date=1 February 2018 |archive-date=8 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508054424/https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/02/01/bishops-around-world-differ-amoris/ |url-status=dead }}
In May 2018, after Pope Francis failed to reject a draft proposal on the part of the German Bishops' Conference to allow Protestants to receive the Eucharist in Catholic churches in certain cases, Eijk wrote that Francis was failing to defend "the clear doctrine and practice of the Church" and that this represented "a drift towards apostasy from the Truth".{{cite news |url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-eijk-pope-needed-to-give-clarity-to-german-bishops-on-intercommuni |title=Cardinal Eijk: Pope Francis Needed to Give Clarity on Intercommunion |work=National Catholic Register |date=7 May 2018 | access-date = 8 May 2018 |first=Willem Jacobus |last=Eijk}}
An article in the weekly De Groene Amsterdammer of September 22, 1999, included the catholic historian and journalist Ton van Schaik who criticized the cardinal for his relations with the extremely conservative Spanish lay movement Opus Dei and because the cardinal was not dismissive of the death penalty. Van Schaik considered that contrary to Catholic doctrine. Superkatholiek [https://www.groene.nl/artikel/superkatholiek] De Groene Amsterdammer 28 september 1999
In 2022, Eijk published a book De band van de liefde: Katholieke huwelijksmoraal en seksuele ethiek (The Bond of Love: Catholic Marital Morality and Sexual Ethics), a work presenting the Catholic view that sexual activity within marriage has two inseparable purposes: the procreation of children and the unitive love between spouses ("mutual self-giving of man and woman"); and that outside of marriage or these purposes, chastity is required. The book also discusses various sexual acts in light of Catholic moral teaching.{{cite web |title=Dutch cardinal: “Chastity is not ridiculous” |url=https://cne.news/article/1916-dutch-cardinal-chastity-is-not-ridiculous |website=CNE News |access-date=2025-04-30}}{{cite web |title=The Bond of Love |url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/willem-jacobus-eijk/#:~:text=The%20Bond%20Of%20Love |website=College of Cardinals Report |access-date=2025-04-30}} Critics say that Eijk's book shows he is more orthodox than the Catholic church.{{cite web | last = Huttinga | first = Wolter | title = Een kil klinisch boek van kardinaal Eijk over seksualiteit en dan het woord liefde in de titel opnemen | url = https://www.trouw.nl/recensies/een-kil-klinisch-boek-van-kardinaal-eijk-over-seksualiteit-en-dan-het-woord-liefde-in-de-titel-opnemen~bb4e092b/ | trans-title = A cold clinical book by cardinal Eijk about sexuality and then include the word love in the title | date = 2 November 2022 | access-date = 29 April 2025 | website = www.trouw.nl | language = nl}}
In November 2022, he asked Pope Francis to write an encyclical on the issue of gender theory.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-15 |title=Dutch cardinal asks pope for gender encyclical on gender theory |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/11/dutch-cardinal-asks-pope-for-gender-encyclical-on-gender-theory/ |access-date= |website=Crux |language=en}} His request was partially satisfied by the Declaration Dignitas Infinita of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.{{Cite web |last=Liedl |first=Jonathan |date=2024-04-09 |title=Vatican's 'Dignitas Infinita' Draws 'Clear Line' on Gender Theory, Receives Widespread Praise |url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/dignitas-infinita-human-dignity |access-date= |website=National Catholic Register |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Wim Eijk}}
- {{cite web| access-date = 6 December 2017 |title=Eijk Card. Willem Jacobus |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_eijk_wj.html | url-status=live | archive-date= 15 October 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171015095221/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_eijk_wj.html}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.aartsbisdom.nl/home/organisatie/aartsbisschop/ |title=Willem Jacobus kardinaal Eijk |website=Aartsbisdom Utrecht |language=nl}}
{{S-start}}
{{S-rel|ca}}
{{S-bef|before=Bernard Möller}}
{{S-ttl|title=Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden
|years=17 July 1999 – 11 December 2007}}
{{S-aft|after=Gerard de Korte}}
{{S-bef|before=Adrianus Johannes Simonis}}
{{S-ttl|title=Archbishop of Utrecht
|years=11 December 2007 – present}}
{{S-inc|rows=2}}
{{S-bef|before=Corrado Ursi}}
{{S-ttl|title=Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto
|years=18 February 2012 – present}}
{{S-end}}
{{Cardinals of the Catholic Church|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eijk, Wim}}
Category:21st-century cardinals
Category:21st-century Dutch male writers
Category:21st-century Dutch non-fiction writers
Category:Archbishops of Utrecht
Category:Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
Category:Dutch male non-fiction writers
Category:Dutch Roman Catholic archbishops
Category:Dutch Roman Catholic writers
Category:International Theological Commission
Category:Leiden University alumni
Category:Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Category:Members of the Congregation for the Clergy
Category:People from Ouder-Amstel
Category:Pontifical Lateran University alumni
Category:Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni