Key figure in church history
Historians describe Ad Simonis as a key figure in 20th-century Dutch church history. As Bishop of Rotterdam (1970-1983) and later Archbishop of Utrecht (until 2007) and Cardinal, he led the Church during turbulent years. He gained national prominence for his conservative views on abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, as rector magnificus José Sanders emphasised, he was certainly not ‘the black-and-white figure that the media occasionally portrayed him as. His solidarity, willfulness and critical loyalty characterised his participation in social debate.’
Archive made accessible for research
This loyalty drove the cardinal to have his personal archive brought to Nijmegen after his death in 2020. With support from the Adrianus Foundation, the archive has been made accessible and available for research by the KDC. At the book launch, Van Nieuwland demonstrated how Simonis freely reused his own sermons – as well as those of others – and how his view of the Holy Spirit put a brake on democracy within the Church. Biographer Ton Crijnen revealed that Simonis always played down the existence of his own archive: 'I only have a few snippets that are of no use to you! Fortunately, this turned out to be false. Church historian Brian Heffernan of the Catholic University of Leuven emphasised the importance of the accessibility of the archives for academic research into recent church history, especially the influence of the mediatisation of religious leaders.
Now available
The book was successfully published thanks to the support of Radboud University Press. The publication offers researchers, students and anyone interested in Catholic heritage and modern church history new starting points for study and debate. Het persoonlijk archief van Adrianus kardinaal Simonis (1931-2020) is now available to order from any bookshop. A digital version can also be downloaded free of charge.
