Several hundred gays and sympathisers held a protest during Mass in the cathedral in the southern city of Den Bosch on Sunday. The protest was directed at Father Luc Buyens, who refused to allow an openly gay Carnival prince to receive Communion.

In the largely Catholic South of the Netherlands, Carnival is a major public holiday. This year’s Prince Carnival in the small town of Reusel was the openly gay Gijs Vermeulen. He was due to address the congregation at the Carnival Mass, but local priest Father Luc Buyens refused to allow him to take the sacrament. The priest argued that his lifestyle as a practicing homosexual was sinful according to Catholic doctrine.

On the previous Sunday a protest was also held at Mass in Reusel itself. In anticipation of this week’s protest in the cathedral in Den Bosch, the priest taking the service decided not to administer the sacrament to anyone.

Explaining his actions, he said that the sacrament could only be administered to people who express their sexuality appropriately. In response, protestors in the congregation stood up and left the service, jeering and singing a hymn which includes the words “He came to earth for us all.”

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