







Pope John Paul II's Dutch misadventure





The 1985 papal visit in the Netherlands was a disaster. The journey, probably the worst * for John Paul II, was bad from before he left Rome.

Leftist politics in 1985 were ascendant. The general population, too, had become notably secular  and in any case the Dutch politic is famously tolerant. Top-down rule is foreign to Dutch culture (although the country is a monarchy.) Discussion has been instrumental in the history of a watery land made of community decisions and inclusion. The conservatism of the Vatican had become anathema to many of the Dutch. Many inside and outside of the church had protest in mind from the moment of the 1983 announcement of the upcoming visit.

John Paul II's days in Holland would be unlike the typical celebration.

The first obvious problem came on 11 May as the pontiff kissed the ground at Eindhoven : few people had even come out to greet him. Officials had expected 100,000 . Instead, fewer than a tenth of that number appeared.

In the streets of Den Bosch later that day, the numbers were similar  flouting a similar expectation.

But the cool reaction was a mild spectacle compared to events the next day in Utrecht.

__ ___ __





There were various leftist movements in mid-80's Holland that were influential and visible  some quite radical by the standards of "normal" times and places.

The squatter's movement in the early 80's counted about 40,000 participants. (In 2006  largely due to increased building occupancy [due in part to the squatter's movement]  the number is nearer 1000.) Squatters were in some cases quite militant  but even on the average rather assertive. As a movement they demanded and received a tolerance for occupying any building which had been empty and for which no development was in plan.

The squatters are only an example  though a radical one  of the active left in 1985 Holland.

In Holland of 1985, there occurred plenty of regular demonstrations against all that was conservative and right-wing  demonstrations that were not merely the province of the radical fringe.





However, since John Paul II was to visit Belgium and Luxembourg that May, the church in Holland could only do one thing  invite him. You can't tell the Holy Father that his timing would be inopportune.









By the time the papal entourage landed in Eindhoven, many were prepared. At first, they just stayed away  there are speculations about why that happened, but the raw fact of nearly-empty streets tells a story on its own.

The satirical TV show "Pisa" had a segment called "Popie Jopie" that became its most notorious. It featured a song by that name, and a video, hier te zien op YouTube



And then there were the protesters.

"Whoever thought that it couldn't get more painful than the first day wished they could go back to the empty streets of Den Bosch." 2  VPRO

There was a gathering scheduled for the second day of the Pope's visit at the Utrecht "Jaarbeurs," the convention center. The Pope would confer his blessings, and members of the Dutch church would speak in his audience.

The streets of Utrecht surrounding the Jaarbeurs were filled with protesters. They shouted slogans: "Weg met de paus (Pope go home;)" displayed banners of similar opinion; hung from lamp-posts  it was chaos.

Somebody began to hurl stones  and the occasion devolved into rioting and police battles.

The Pope and his entourage were unable to get into the Jaarbeurs through the main entrance, and had to avail of access at the rear of the complex.





The atmosphere was peaceful, again, with the streets of Utrecht locked outside the doors.

People from different sectors of the Church spoke to the Holy Father with respect. They read  more to the point  from documents that had been approved.

But there was another surprise....

The pope's Dutch troubles weren't over yet.





Because the sectarianism kept the Catholics a distinct community, the accord between them, and between them and Rome, was pretty tight  before the 1960's.

The Catholic church in Holland had taken the 1962 "Second Vatican Council" to heart, with a result in 1966 of the "Pastoral Council" in Noordwijkerhout. This "Pastoraal Concilie" went somewhat further than the liberalizations of 1962 Rome  and meanwhile the sympathy for change had cooled in the Vatican.

Progressive Catholics wanted a practical, Dutch expression of the intentions of Vatican II. The Pastoral Council of 1966 brought many of their desires to the fore. They wanted humane consideration of homosexuality, anti-conception, marriage of priests (and the abolishment of compulsory celibacy,) and a more democratic manifestation of Church heirarchy.

After a few years of diplomatic unease, the Vatican ruled in 1970 against the Pastoral Council. The Pope underlined his message soon thereafter by naming a number of conservative bishops, beginning with the man who would in 1985 be Cardinal Simonis (in 1971 named the bishop of Rotterdam.)

The Vatican had been unprepared for the strident calls for liberalism within the Dutch church during the 1960's, and this conflict was unresolved in 1985.





Simonis worried about the slated participation of the theologian Catharine Halkes, known for her feminist opinions. He declared that Halkes could only speak if accompanied on the program by a more "traditional" Catholic woman. Halkes did not concede.

The press cried "censorship," but Cardinal Simonis held his ground. Halkes was off the program of speakers.

Instead, another woman, the little-known Hedwig Wasser, took the podium. Wasser spoke on behalf of the National Council of Missionary Societies (Nederlandse Missieraad,) the primary body in the administration of foreign Dutch-Catholic matters. She gave her speech from prepared notes about various pertinent allied organizations  notes that had been fully vetted.

But Ms. Wasser did not finish her delivery when she came to the end of her prepared notes.









__ ___ __

2. "Wie dacht dat het niet pijnlijker kon worden dan de eerste dag, verlangde nu terug naar de lege straten van Den Bosch."  Andere Tijden, a VPRO television program.

__ ___ __

 Return to "the empty streets of Den Bosch" ...





__ ___ __

3. "Gaan we geloofwaardig om met de boodschap van het Evangelie, als een opgestoken vingertje gepredikt wordt in plaats van een toegestoken hand? Als geen ruimte maar uitsluiting wordt aangezegd aan ongehuwd samenwonenden, gescheidenen, gehuwde priesters, homoseksuelen én vrouwen?"  Andere Tijden, a VPRO television program.

Here's another statement by Hedwig Wasser:

"Women don't want half the cookie. They want another cookie."

(Vrouwen willen niet de helft van de koek. Ze willen een andere koek.)

__ ___ __

 Return to "Hedwig Wasser" ...









__ ___ __

4. "Dus ik denk dat die goede heilige vader in de eerste maanden geen tong kon zien."  Andere Tijden, a VPRO television program.

__ ___ __

 Return to "sole and asparagus" ...









__ ___ __

5. "Er is nooit een dag geweest dat ik zo'n geweldige zucht van verlichting heb geslaakt als toen we in het vliegtuig naar Luxemburg zaten."  Andere Tijden, a VPRO television program.

__ ___ __

 Return to "sigh of relief" ...









Sources:

 Transcript of a television broadcast of an episode of Andere Tijden"," (Other Times.)

 Katholiek Nieuwsblad (Catholic Newspaper)









* "The worst [John Paul II journey]" is a bold superlative.

Known as the "travelling pope," Karol Józef Wojtyła visited more than 100 countries as pontiff.





VPRO.nl

["Nooit eerder waren bij een pausbezoek de straten zo leeg en tegelijkertijd de stenengooiers zo dichtbij."]





__ ___ __

 Return to "maybe the worst" ...







