Dutch bishops visiting Rome this week have given Pope Francis a dramatic snapshot of the steep decline of Roman Catholicism in its European heartland. Both Catholic and Protestant Christian ranks have shrunk dramatically across Europe in recent decades, and hundreds of churches have been sold off to be turned into apartments, shops, bars or warehouses. Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Dutch’
1950’s castration scandal rocks Dutch Catholic Church
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
At least 10 teenage boys or young men under the age of 21 were surgically castrated “to get rid of homosexuality” while in the care of the Dutch Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s. Evidence of the castrations has emerged amid controversy that it was not included in the findings of an official investigation into Read more
Mobile units for euthanasia in Holland: kill people in their own homes
Friday, December 16th, 2011
‘Just before Christmas, the Dutch announced that they are considering mobile units to kill people in their own homes. 1,000 of the 4,000 euthanasia deaths in Holland each year are now done without the patient’s consent,’ writes Lord Alton. The New Year is ushered in by Father Time, who derives from the Greek God Chronos, more Read more
Catholic priest challenges suspension for living with girlfriend
Friday, December 9th, 2011
An 81-year-old Dutch Catholic priest, who lives with his 85-year-old girlfriend, says he will take his expulsion from priesthood to the European Court of Human Rights. As reported in CathNews, Jan Peijnenburg, who has lived with his girlfriend for 46 years, was told he either had to separate from his girlfriend or leave the Catholic Read more
81 year old priest ordered to leave partner of 46 years
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
The Dutch Catholic Church has ordered an 81 year old priest to leave his partner of 46 years or be forced to quit the priesthood. The Den Bosch diocese in the central Netherlands said Jan Peijnenburg’s relationship with Threes van Dijck (85) was unacceptable to other priests. “We are giving him the choice: either he leaves Read more
Dutch Salesian leader “on leave”
Friday, May 27th, 2011
The head of the Dutch Salesian order, Father Herman Spronck, has been placed on “administrative leave” for his part in a Dutch Catholic pedophile scandal. Over the weekend, Spronck, known as the Delegate, said that sexual relationships between children and adults were not always damaging. “Formally I always say that everyone must obey the law. But Read more