Kort geding tegen Kardinaal Simonis.
Procedure against Kardinaal Simonis because of his discriminatory and offensive talks about gays.

  

A Kardinaal is the highest in rank in the Roman Catholic provinces, just under the Pope. Kardinaal Simonis had this position in the Netherlands.

In a radio interview he said that you are alowed to refuse a homosexuel to rent rooms in your house, just because of being gay.

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The dutch national gay and lesbian organisation NVIH-COC asked me to try to forbid more of that kind of talks. With help of the Gaykrant, Dutch largest magazine for LHBT I summoned the Kardinaal never to repeat this or this kind of words.

During my plea the Preident of the court in Utrecht nodded and nearly outspoken agreed with my words. Only, the Catholic Church is too mighty to defeat. In front of the courtroom a nun was praying to make the Kardinaal win.
Some catholic papers wrote that I talked with the tongue of the devil. During this procedure the Kardinaal went to Rome next to the Pope.

 

The lawyer of Kardinaal Simonis was apparently Roman Catholic. In his plea he came with Gods word for the truth of the statements.
And he added to that: Mr President, whatever your sentence is, The Kardinaal is above the law.
This statement is normal for extremists.
The President looked surprised to hear this unrespectful words from a representative of an oldfashioned toplawfirm.
The lawyer turned purple red when he realized what he just had said.

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While studying for this case I found out that the nowadays Pope Benedictus, who was before Cardinal Ratzinger wrote also very gaydiscriminating texts.
Till this case I did not know about this scandelous unloving, even hatefull unchristian movements and the problems it caused to individuals.

In those days I was also fighting with the COC and others against an organisation that said that they could cure homosexuels of being gay with religion and the Bible.
After the radioprogram with the Kardinaal a very sad letter came from somebody who rented rooms to students in Utrecht. He himself was gay. He had a young renter who killed himself after this radioprogram and after several desperate attempts with the help of these Religious Healers to come straight.

This we could not forcome, but the case has been of big support to many others. I received hartwarming letters from all over the world.
According to their funny postcards Dutch friends on holiday in Italy were proud to see me in all Italian papers fighting this.
I received a letter from Pater van Kilsdonk, a student priest at the Universities who fought his own battle against this discrimination.
He wrote to me: you can never win this case, but for all of us you are the winner.
In fact we did win, not at the court, but Kardinaal Simonis became much more careful in his talks.