A word for the New Year 2026

New Years reception of the diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam and Military Ordinariate

Here you find the English text of the speech I delivered in the Saint Nicholas Co-Ca­the­dral Basilica in Am­ster­dam at the New Years reception of this year 2026. Several themes are dealt with, regar­ding church-life and society in the Netherlands.

Though the snow and bad weather might have been an impedi­ment to people to come, many were there to assist at this special event. First there was a celebration of the Word in the co-ca­the­dral, afterwards a reception was held in the neigbou­ring hotel.

(at the bottom of this news-item you find a number of pictures of the celebration in Saint Nicholas co-ca­the­dral. Tomorrow more pictures (also regar­ding the reception) will be published on the web­si­te of the diocese www.bisdomhaarlem-amster­dam.nl)

A WORD FOR THE NEW YEAR 2026

Evensong, Co-Ca­the­dral Basilica of St. Nicholas, Am­ster­dam, 9 January 2026

Your Excellency Military Ordinary Mgr. De Jong, Mgr. Punt, Your Excellency Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich, Apostolic Nuncio, Your Excellency Mr. Mans, Chamberlain of His Majesty the King, Commissioner of the King, mr. Arthur van Dijk, Your Excellencies Ambassadors, Represen­tatives of the Military Forces, Priests, Deacons, Military Chaplains, Pas­to­ral Workers, Cate­chists, Board Members and all of you,

I wish you all a happy and blessed New Year 2026! I thank you for your presence, for being here despite the weather conditions to ring in the New Year together.

Word of thanks

This is also an opportunity for me to thank you all for what you do for the parishes, the Church, for a more just and respectful society, and for pas­to­ral care and faith formation wherever you are.

Human dignity

Respect for human dignity is under pressure on all sides. Anyone who removes a stone from the edifice of respect jeopardises respect as such.

The Catholic Church therefore advocates respect for human life from conception to natural death. This means that we were very unhappy with the acceptance of an amend­ment to the Embryo Act in the House of Commons last month, which allows human embryos to be created for scientific experi­ments. For us as Catholics, that was a black day.

New Catholics

Many of you are deeply involved in gui­ding young people who are discove­ring the mea­ning of faith and the Church. That guidance requires a great deal of effort, because it is not merely a matter of impar­ting knowledge about the faith; it is about hel­ping young people to adopt a Christian, Catholic conviction and lifestyle. That requires time, warm guidance and a supportive community.

I thank you all very much for the time and attention you give to this.

Pilgrims of hope

Pilgrims of Hope was the theme of the Holy Year that Pope Leo XIV con­clu­ded last Tuesday. As pilgrims of Hope, we were on the road in 2025 and we will continue to be so in the new year 2026. Unfortuna­tely, we are doing so in a world of moun­ting tensions.

Complex political situations

The security of Europe is a major concern for all those involved in national defence. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the fluctua­ting foreign policy of the United States have increased the urgency of strengthe­ning security and defence; defence spen­ding has risen by more than 30% over the last four years.

Concerns about the complex situation in Venezuela took a new turn last week, with consequences for everyone, inclu­ding in areas of our kingdom: Curaçao, Aruba and the other areas of the West, where there are also many Dutch military personnel and their chaplains. We hope and pray, in line with the words spoken by Pope Leo last Sunday, that everything will lead to justice and peace for the Venezuelan people and that there will be and continue to be respect for sovereignty and the rule of law.

Spiritual care in the army

All this naturally also has an impact on the invaluable work of spiritual care in the armed forces, the efforts of our chaplains and the military ordinariate. I wish them all God's special bles­sing for the near future, which is still largely shrouded in uncertainty.

Message of the Holy Father

In his message for World Peace Day, Pope Leo called for “a disarmed and disar­ming peace”, under the motto with which he began his ponti­fi­cate: Peace be with you all! The countless conversations the Pope has had with govern­ment lea­ders and the diplomatic contacts maintained by the Se­cre­ta­riat of State of the Holy See deserve our support and call for our prayers.

Commit­ment to peace

Both the Secretary of State, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin himself, and the Secretary for Foreign Relations, His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher, have visited this co-ca­the­dral basilica and prayed here. May their commit­ment to peace be blessed and successful. For ultima­tely, as the Pope writes in his message, military deterrence - especially nuclear deterrence - is based on fear and domination. This may sometimes be necessary, but true peace is built on law, justice and trust.

Cooperation

The moun­ting tensions and concerns surroun­ding the primary task of the defence forces, namely defen­ding the territory of the Netherlands and its allies, have strengthened cooperation between the sen­ding agencies of the various denominations over the past year. We hope that this will strengthen the capacity of all spiritual counsellors to serve the people entrusted to them, with continued respect for the iduality of each sen­ding agency.

We sincerely wish our chaplains and all those involved in defence wisdom and insight and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to continue to guide the military personnel well.

In the past year, the Military Ordinariate and Spiritual Care also said farewell to prominent figureheads and lea­ders of support foundations; we extend our gratitude to them! We trust that what they have built will continue to bear fruit under their successors.

Violence in our society

Violence and threats are not only seen abroad. Around a special day such as New Year's Eve, we unfortuna­tely see a lot of violence against emergency workers, such as ambulance, fire brigade and police personnel. Much of this violence is related to drugs and alcohol. It goes without saying that we strongly condemn this des­tructive behaviour, all the more so because it is directed against people who serve society and try to solve difficult problems. I think that must be said first and foremost: this is absolu­tely unacceptable, this violence is utterly reprehensible!

The roots of the problem

But we cannot leave it at that. Violence and the excessive use of drugs and alcohol are expressions of underlying problems. Where does this violence come from? I think there are many specific causes, but it cannot be denied that frustration and anger play a major role. What are people, often young people, so angry about, and what has been lac­king in their upbrin­ging that they resort to violence on such a festive occasion as New Year's Eve? And why is it that women are so often unsafe on the streets? Repression is not the only answer; on the contrary, it can cause even more anger. The roots of the problem must be addressed.

What seems essential

It is not that I can offer a concrete solution to these problems here, but it seems to me essential - and I repeat what I started with - that we build our society on respect for the dignity of every human person, never give the impression that a human being can be a disposable product or waste, and that we promote connection and community spirit, that we make time for each other in families, promote stable relationships and care for one another. How can the education of young people be improved? Teaching must also be education. Faithfulness and self-sacrifice are important virtues. I believe we must also promote connection in neighbourhoods and between people of different backgrounds and ethnicities.

Catholic values

The values that we try to impart through our Catholic faith play an important role in this. As I mentioned, we are currently seeing more young people who want to get to know Jesus Christ and deepen their faith. May this also lead to an enrich­ment of their humanity, to a desire to serve and build community, a desire to be “another Christ”. Being a Christian is not a coat that you put on or take off, but it is living from and for the love of Jesus Christ, which extends to every human being, without exception.

Volen­dam

On 1 January, Volen­dam commemorated the 25th anniversary of the New Year's disaster in 't Hemeltje. It was a commemoration that enabled many to take a new step in coming to terms with this tragedy. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the entire Volen­dam community!

Passing away of Hon. Canon Guus Hendriks

Former vicar Canon Guus Hendriks passed away these days. May he rest in peace.

Congratulations to H.E. mons Punt

I would like to extend a special word of congratulations to my predecessor, His Excellency Mgr. Jozef M. Punt, who will reach the blessed age of eighty tomorrow. From 1995 to 2020, he served our diocese and the military ordinariate. With faith, great administrative insight and God's help, he achieved a great deal. I would like to take this opportunity to mention in particular that he brought unity and solidarity. He arrived in a very tense atmosphere. When Bishop Punt left the diocese, the sense of community had been strengthened and faith in Jesus Christ and solidarity with the universal Church had become more central. Thank you very much, Bishop Punt, for your dedication over all these years and for your presence here today. We warmly congratulate you on this milestone and wish you God's bles­sing for the future!

May God bless you!

And I also wish God's bles­sing upon all of you! May the Lord accompany you with His bles­sing and grace, may you work in joy and peace to build God's kingdom, may He inspire you to do what you must do, inspire you to beautiful initiatives and make everything fruitful!

+Johannes Hendriks
Bishop of Haar­lem-Am­ster­dam