Bishop reported to the European Court by concubine priest

An old Dutch priest, who has been living with a woman of the same age for 46 years, wants to take the diocese to court
Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City
December 7, 2011

"I remain a priest, and cohabitant. And I contest the Bishop who has had me removed." These were the comments made by a priest who has been living with a woman for 46 years, and who lost the priesthood two days ago, because he violated (and openly admitted) the obligatory celibacy rule. He is not giving up, however, and promises a legal battle. Father JanPeijnenburg, the elderly Dutch priest who has been defrocked, wants to go even further and take his diocese before the European Court of Human Rights.

Living a "double life" for almost half a century, in his opinion, does not justify the decision of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, on the contrary, the "cohabitant priest” publicly claims the battle undertaken to obtain permission to live with his partner Threes van Dijck (who is also octogenarian). "I will take my case to the European Court of Human Rights", the former pastor announced after recently receiving the letter with which the bishop notified him that he has been suspended from the priesthood because of his refusal to abandon his domestic partner, as the diocesan ordinary officially asked him to do a month ago. The ultimatum expired on 1 December and when the priest refused to choose between sacred love and profane love, the ax immediately dropped on the diocese of Hertogenbosch, the largest in the Netherlands. But the "priest in love" does not want to give up the priesthood. So far, Fr. Jan Peijnenburg has been carrying out his pastoral mission in the city of Eindhoven in the south-east Netherlands, and wants to continue doing so, as if nothing had changed. the rest

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