Marga Klompé Award 2005

The prestigious Marga Klompé Award for 2005 was awarded to John Wijngaards on Saturday the 19th of November in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Dutch-born John Wijngaards is also a British citizen well-known for his theological and spiritual publications in the English-speaking world.

The Marga Klompé Award owes its name and foundation to the renowned Roman Catholic social reformer and Cabinet Minister Mrs. Dr Marga Klompé (1912 - 1986).

The prize was awarded to John Wijngaards in recognition of his work for renewal of the ministry in the Roman Catholic Church, in particular for his academic campaign in support of opening the ordained ministries to women.

Information on the Award

The Marga Klompé award ceremony for 2005

The Marga Klompé awards were presented on Saturday 19 November 2005 in the Great Hall (Aula Magna) of the University of Tilburg, from 14.00 - 16.00 pm. by Yvonne E. M. A. Timmerman-Buck DCL.

One of the three recipients was Dr. John N. M. Wijngaards. “His work focuses on renewal of the ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. For more than 25 years he has devoted his energy to disproving the arguments brought up against the ordination of women to the diaconate and the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church, and to demonstrate why, on the contrary, women should be admitted to the ordained ministries. He makes the discussion widely accessible through an extensive website.”

Three books by John Wijngaards were judged particularly relevant:

1. Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests?, (Great Wakering 1977, 2nd edition in 1986), also published in India and the Netherlands.
2. The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church. Unmasking a Cuckoo’s Egg Tradition,(London 2001), also published in the USA, India, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Japan.
3. No Women in Holy Orders? The Ancient Women Deacons,(Canterbury Press 2002; Crossroads 2006). Dutch edition in preparation.

The reasons of the committee for awarding the prize were formulated as follows:

“Dr. Wijngaards has an impressive curriculum vitae. Even those that do not share his views have to acknowledge that with his fellow workers he has opened a wealth of sources in the theology, church history and the sociology of religions that demand respect.”

“Painstakingly and with well-considered words Wijngaards criticises the arguments against the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, and with the same persistence and precision he offers reasons that argue in favour of the renewal of the ministries. Thus, with his fellow workers, he keeps alive a reasonable and well-argued discussion about the non-ordination of women.”

“Dr. Wijngaards’ work contributes to emancipation in church and society, which is one of the aspirations of the Marga Klompé Foundation. His plea for the renewal of the priesthood and for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church is a splendid example of patient reasoning about the tasks of Catholic/Christian men and women, within the Church and outside of it. It is a good thing to keep the discussion on this important subject alive, precisely when it has lost its more sensational aspects -- for then the crux of the issue appears more clearly.”

Other recipients were Nicolette Mak founder of a Courier Service for handicapped persons and the dramatic society ‘Watertheater’ for persons who are mentally disadvantaged. The annual awards are not ranked in order of importance. Each includes a prize of € 2500.

Who was Marga Klompé?

Marga Klompé was born in Arnhem on 16 August 1912. Her Dutch father, J. P. M. Klompé, ran a stationery shop, and later a small factory, in Arnhem. Her mother, A. M. J. A. Verdang, was German. Both parents were staunch Catholics, but, as was the case in many Catholic families in the Netherlands, their unflinching support for the Church was tempered by healthy criticism when required. Marga inherited this combination of a strong faith and an open mind.

As a college student at the university of Utrecht, Marga questioned many aspects of religion and of traditional Catholicism. Her brother Frans and three sisters Hilde, Elsbeth and Charlot, remember the heated discussions in the Klompé family when Marga was home during the weekends. Marga experienced a real crisis in her faith in the 1930’s. In the end it strengthened both her Christian commitment and her determination to be a thinking Catholic, responsible for her own convictions and actions as a leader.

After obtaining her PhD in Chemistry, Marga taught in the ‘Mater Dei’ Highschool for girls from 1932 - 1949. The occupation of the Netherlands during the war made her join the Dutch underground reistance movement for which she worked mainly as a courier.

Political leadership

After the war, Marga began to focus on politics, something unusual for women in her days. Her vision and practical skills made her rise through the ranks till, in 1948, she became a member of Parliament, and in 1956 the first woman minister in the Netherlands. The portfolio given to her concerned Social Work (1956 - 1963).

This resulted in her introducing a full Social Security Bill for the Netherlands in 1963, to replace the previous Alleviation of Poverty Bill. She is remembered in the Netherlands especially for bringing about this key reform in the Dutch Government’s social legislation.

In total Marga was a member of Parliament for 12 years and held ministerial posts for another 12 years (Education & again Social Works). In the Netherlands, ministers cease to be members of Parliament on their appointment.

Marga also sat on, or presided over, many national and international bodies, such as the Council of Europe and the Joint Task Force for European Cooperation in Development. Critics called her “Our Lady of Perpetual Succour” on account of her untiring support for the marginalised in society.

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