Curtain Falls for Gay Roman Catholic Priest
AMSTERDAM. Gay Roman Catholic priest Antoine Bodaar has to leave after having
been a priest at the Amsterdam "De Krijtberg" church for 3 years. 50-year
old Art-historian Bodaar, who was appointed to the Jesuite-led parish in
the centre of Amsterdam without there being a vacancy, became very popular
among parishoners because of his conservative ideas concerning mass and his
emphasys on the mystical aspects of religion. The fact that his appointment did
not strictly follow church rules and met with some critisism from Dutch bishops
at the time, but had never been a problem since, is now generally believed to
be an excuse to get rid of the charismatic Bodaar.
In an interview for the socialist VARA-television several weeks ago, in which
he strongly advocated a return to conservative moral values and spoke out
against those who "want to make the church a vehicle for social change", Bodaar
mentioned having had "amourous liasons" before he joined the priesthood,
without going into detail. Very surprisingly neither Bodaar nor interviewer
Sonja Barend came across the idea that the church may have been ridding itself
of a homosexual priest, a view held by Bodar's parishioners and speculated upon
in the Dutch press.
Dutch Gay Liberation Movement Holds Annual Congress
HAARLEM. On November 25 and 26 some 100 delegates from 26 (out of a total of 33)
local chapters of the N.V.I.H.-COC held their annual congress in the city of
Haarlem, some 20 km west of Amsterdam and known for its medieval St. Bavo
cathedral. After a word of welcome by a representative of host organisation
COC-Kennemerland, Mrs. Schmitz, undersecretary for Justice and former mayor of
Haarlem, took the stand. In her speech she discussed her views on the impending
reforms in Dutch laws on relations, kinship and adoption which she made known
in a letter to the Dutch lower house last September. Although the letter drew
critical comments from the gay community at the time, she adhered to the views
expressed in it i.e.: no opening up of marriage to gay couples, instead of
which she proposed the possibility to register a same-sex partnership with
virtually the same rights as a heterosexual marriage, and no adoption rights
for gay couples. To the dismay of the audience she stated that in the matter at
hand it was unwise for any government to be too much out of line with other
countries but encouraged the COC to keep pushing for further reform when the
matter will be discussed in Dutch parliament and Dutch society over the coming
months. After her speech Mr. Cees van Wijk, the COC's chairman, presented
Ms. Schmitz with a box of cigars "just a bit longer than her regular ones".
The congress sent telegrammes to Mr. Jan Pronk, Dutch minister for developement
and cooperation and chairman of the global coalition on Africa conference held
in Maastricht condemning the views on homosexuality held by Mr. Mugabe, present
at the conference and to a number of Dutch members of parliament asking for a
postphonement of a cut in state subsidy to the COC of DFL 171,000 (US$ 110,000).
The first day of the congress was spent discussing the future of the COC using
a paper prepared by a committee of prominent figures from the gay community
from within and outside the COC. Themes among others were how to motivate
volunteers, the relationship between the Amsterdam based national COC and its
local branches and ways to make the work of the COC more visible and thereby
attract more membersship, which since last year dropped from a little over 9600
to some 9570. The results of these discussions will be used to set up a broad
discussion on the future of the COC over the next few months, the results of
which are expected to lead to changes in strategy and organisation, to be
discussed during the may 1996 congress.
On the second day several motions were passed urging the board not to take on
any extra financial burdens and to try to generate extra funds to replace the
ever decreasing subsidies. The openness of newly elected treasurer
Adri van Hout drew positive reactions from the delegates. The COC-medal was
presented to Jan-Herman Veenker for his work for the COC and in the fight
against aids and to Ida for her years of volunteer work for the Zwolle chapter
of the COC.
Mugabe at it Again or: How Far should Dutch Hospitality Go ?
MAASTRICHT/THE HAGUE. At the global coalition for Africa conference, currently
being held in the southern Dutch town of Maastricht, Robert Mugabe in a speech
last monday repeated his homophobic views. When he delivered his speech
describing as "un-African and an abomination" the fact that "some men force
others to become women", representatives of several African countries,
notably Malawi and Sudan, expressed agreement.
Mr. Mugabe went on to say that "Our current laws are not outdated remnants of
a colonial past but instead are modern laws made by a rational and modern
people". Mr. Pronk, the Dutch minister for developement and cooperation and
chairman of the conference, expressed anger and frustration as no-one spoke out
against Mr. Mugabe. The matter lead to questions in the Dutch parliament by
Groen Links (environmentalists), who argued that despite him being chairman
Mr. Pronk should not have remained passive.
Last sunday, some 50 gays and lesbians protested Mr. Mugabe's presence at the
conference in a demonstration organised by the Maastricht COC and Strange Fruit,
an organisation for lesbians and gays of non-Dutch origin.