Joseph Mees (18 April 1923 – 9 December 2001) was a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including almost twenty years as an Apostolic Nuncio.
[1] On 14 June 1969, Pope Paul VI named him a titular archbishop and Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia.
[5] Rather than support the anti-apartheid efforts of the South African bishops led by Denis Hurley, Archbishop of Durban, Mees quoted Pope John Paul's structures against clerical participation in politics, the same words South African President P.W.
Botha had quoted to the bishops: "It is not for the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political construction and organization of social life.
Mees left South Africa in October 1987, apparently recalled to Rome, leaving in charge of the nunciature Mario Cassari, who gave the bishops' political efforts his enthusiastic endorsement.