It’s a kind of Michelin guide for gay people who want a church wedding. Same-sex marriage may be accepted by Dutch legislation, but it's not accepted by the majority of Dutch churches. Coming Out Churches, Dutch Edition gives an overview of those churches that are open to same-sex marriages.
Churches that agree to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples receive a ‘This is a Coming Out Church’ sticker. In addition to the addresses of gay-friendly churches, the guide also includes interviews with key gay rights figures.
“We hope to provide an image of developments in the church scene over the past few decades. There has been a group of people fighting for lesbian and gay rights,” says co-author Tom Mikkers.
Emancipation
Mr Mikkers is the secretary of the Remonstrant Brotherhood, a liberal church which sees same-sex marriage as equal to its heterosexual counterpart. He wrote the guide together with Wielie Elhorst who has made a study of issues involving church and sexuality. Mr Mikkers believes rather surprisingly that the acceptation of gay people was set in motion by the churches themselves.
“It’s a fact that gay emancipation received a very important boost from the churches in the 1950s and 1960s. Pastors stood up and said homosexuals – as they were called back then – should be treated with compassion. They were not yet talking about marriage, they weren’t ready for that. Gay people were on the list of ‘groups you should look after,’ which included prisoners, the disabled and the mentally ill.”
Out of the closet
At present, there are a number of churches which recognise same-sex marriage. In addition to the Remonstrant Brotherhood, there are the Mennonites, the Apostolic Church and the NPB (Free-Thinking Community of Faith or ‘Vrijzinnige Geloofsgemeenschap’ in Dutch). The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has an ‘arrangement’ regarding same-sex marriage, but does not recognise it as on a par with traditional marriage. A number of other churches have similar arrangements.
The Moravian Church is one which faces a dilemma. As a result of being part of a global network, the church has no choice but to abide by international agreements, which clearly state the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Christoph Reichel chairs the provincial executive of the Moravian Church in the Netherlands:
“On the other hand, we also feel the pressure from our members for more acceptance. We can act on a pastoral level, show respect and engage in dialogue, but we cannot take further steps such as performing wedding ceremonies or church services to consecrate same-sex partnerships.”
In the closet
The guide devotes a separate chapter to the Roman Catholic Church under the heading, Still in the closet. The Catholic Church does not recognise same-sex marriage, but Mr Mikkers says it goes on unofficially on a small scale.
“A number of priests and monastic communities are willing to perform same-sex marriages, and ceremonies do take place occasionally. I have been in touch with parishes where it’s happened, but they did not want to be listed in the guide – they didn’t want to come out of the closet. I don’t expect the Roman Catholic Church to change any time soon, the leadership is not moving at all at present, the Pope and bishops are dead against it. But it’s amusing to note that the faithful are a long way away from where the leadership wants them to be.”
Dutch Edition
Mr Mikkers explains that the guide is called the ‘Dutch Edition’ for a reason:
“Because the subject matter is not exclusive to the Netherlands, it’s also an issue in other countries, where the debate is sometimes even more heated. Think about Spain, where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against same-sex marriages.”
Ukraine is another country where people are fiercely opposed to same-sex marriage. One month ago, a patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church anathematised the Dutch Protestant Church and the Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands:
“That is really mediaeval, it means that those people can rot in hell. So it’s a really contentious issue. I hope the book gets picked up by people abroad, and that a Romanian or Spanish edition gets to be published.”
(gsh/mw/imm)
Email this Article
Printer-friendly version
Follow romes tyranny. Now run by an absolutist who grew up under nazi rule.
And he shows that the lessons of ones youth are the strongest and last the longest.
Top down absolutlist organizations include virtually every tyranny on earth.
Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein etc etc.
YOu should read the book "a moral reconing" by Goldhagen. Who exposes in exquisite detail how the church, instead of condemming the nazis and creating hundred of millions who would have helped stop the death camps, instead collaborated willingly with the nazis and hitler
the book "hitlers willing executioners" also details how the germansl willingly sent about 11 million to the gas chambers and ovens. Jews, Gays, Slavs etc.
Adn the only people the church top hierarchy tried to save were the jews who had converted in the past to being catholic.
The priests who do gay marriages have excommunicated themselves?
Bully for them. What really needs to be excommunicated is the hate filled vatican.
the church that murdered 10s of millions of Muslims during the 'christian crusades" 900-1500. Societies have long memories as the world has found out in the last 10 years
the church of the anything but "holy" inquistion. Estimates range that 100,000 people were tortured, burned at the stake etc during the period from about 1500 to 1830.
the church that hated Jews because they wouldnt convert. And were often mass murdered in "pogroms" during the middle ages
The church of the still not excommunciated Hitler, born and baptised catholic in very catholic austria in 1888. He details how he came to hate the Jews in his book, Mein Kampf
And he leveraged that hatred to gain power and 55 million died.
And the church has yet to excommunicate the worst murderer in history - because to do so would admit their own guilt for creating the hate that led to WWII.
Now they just hate gays. Always they need a victim to rile up the people to get more money in the collection plate.
Spaking of money - a link re the vaticans own bank......
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2021194,00.html
(Vatican bank scandal)
Vercingetorix 10 October 2011 - 5:35pm / USA
reply
Just change one word in your comment: I personally believe, that we as pedophile members, have the same rights as non-pedophile people do.
Sex outside a valid marriage is sinful, and a lifestyle choice. It's all wrong, and doesn't matter how one is tempted; some to illicit relations with children, or animals, or persons they are not married to, of either sex. Quote of Vercingetorix
---------------------------------------------------
Did you ever see such hateful comments before. Saying gays do it with animals, trying to define sin to support his hate etc etc
This is what conservative religion is about. Pure hate of anyone who is different. Little different then Islam that gave the world 9-11 and all the other attrocities
Some brands of christianity are the curse of civilization.
Most those who in the US supported slavery, segregation and the kkk hate group (our southern evangelicals
And the catholic church of the endless hidden molestation of children all over the world
Which had notohing to do with whether a priest was gay, and everything to do with the church denying sex to priests.
IN our country at lesast, most kids by 18 or so know that if you deny sex, ultimately sex wins, and the denied person goes after people of the age when they were terrorized by their church qabout sex. Some kind of a sexual immaturity.
BTW some links.....
Truth about the catholic church re WWII first of all
http://alamoministries.com/content/english/Antichrist/nazigallery/photog... pictures of Nazis and high catholic officials collaborating.
Http://nobeliefs.com/nazis.htm
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23369148-pope-led-cover-up-of... and cover up
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article18594...
nuns forced to abort
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-confirms-report-o...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/17/religion.childprotection (about letter from Vatican telling bishops to hide the molestation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/7...
I personally believe that, we as gay members, have the same rights as heterosexual people do. I support this article and I'd like my country to have those possibilities to get married in here. I really agree with marriage to same-sex couples. Ad I look up to Netherlands because you have a good soetial acceptance to gay people and that country is far batter than the rest of the world.
Just change one word in your comment: I personally believe, that we as pedophile members, have the same rights as non-pedophile people do.
Sex outside a valid marriage is sinful, and a lifestyle choice. It's all wrong, and doesn't matter how one is tempted; some to illicit relations with children, or animals, or persons they are not married to, of either sex.
Please! Since when are there two different laws in NL for gay people and another one for heterosexual people marrying........ It's only one! So there is no 'heterosexual counterpart' to 'gay marriage' but only marriage for two people...
I agree with irishsmile. Those priests who go through the charade of a same-sex "marriage" ceremony have effectively excommunicated themselves, violated their vows and committed grave acts of disobedience. They have to know that Christ will not honor their offenses. This social experiment will not end up well.
The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize 'gay' marriage. If some priests who are of a 'gay' persuasion try and 'perform' a 'marriage, these priests have excommunicated themselves, latae sentenciae, and they know it. These unfaithful 'men' merely want the recognition of being 'priests'. They are not walking the walk.
"the faithful are a long way away from where the leadership wants them to be.” How unfortunately True that statement is. I pity the priests that do not follow Rome's direction. They help no one.
John 6:54
Post new comment
Please be reminded all comments must be in English, short and to the point - guideline 250 words. Abusive and inappropriate comments will be removed.