A Dutch priest is blowing the whistle after he says he was fired by the Catholic Church for being gay.
Pierre Valkering’s troubles began back in March when he was suspended from his duties after coming out during a mass in the Vredeskerk in Amsterdam.
During the mass, the 57-year-old priest talked about the “big pink elephant” within the Catholic Church and criticized its culture of silence around homosexuality, saying he had “suffered a lot” because of it.
Around that same time, Valkering published a memoir, in which he wrote extensively about his life as a gay man, including frequent visits to sex clubs (which he calls “dark rooms”) and overcoming an addition to gay porn while in the priesthood.
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Since then, Valkering has been on “vacation” from his job.
Until this week, that is, when the Amsterdam Peace Church sent a letter to parishioners informing them he had officially been let go.
Valkering tells the Dutch news organization NOS that he’s “not happy” with the diocese’s decision, but “this way of operating does not surprise me.”
He says he plans to continue enjoying the remainder of his vacation and will worry about the next steps when he returns home.
“I will let it rest until after my vacation. My life has been turned upside down enough and it is nice to be able to take some distance.”
Meanwhile, the diocese insists Valkering was “absolutely not” fired for being gay and instead says it was because he broke his vows of celibacy, which he openly admitted to in his book.
At the time of the book’s release, Valkering told an interviewer, “It is clear that with this book I am going on particularly slippery ice, or even a minefield.”
“Because it is largely about sex and about the priesthood and those are, certainly in combination with each other, great taboo subjects where the signals quickly turn red and the alarm bells start to ring.”
Related: Retired priest reinvents himself as gay adult film star at age 83, says he’s “having a party!”
Brian
Well yeah, celibacy is one of the job requirements that goes along with being a priest. I guess he thought they would let it slide the same way the let it slide with the priests who broke their vows of celibacy with 8 year olds.
Kind of weird that that is apparently more acceptable than gay sex clubs.
rogue4gay
This article is clearly click-bate…
Have had this discussion about “gay” people being employed in the Catholic church with other gay advocates.
Bottom line, the Catholic church has a doctrine that says being gay and having sex outside of str8 marriage is a sin. Why anyone would want to work for an organization that is saying an identity you claim is a sin? The problem is not the Catholic Church which seems to be what the LGBTQ world likes to criticize. They are clear on their position.
The problem is the people who want to be priests or work in the Catholic church and also identify as “gay” or LGBTQ. What does it mean to claim those labels when they are both clearly against the doctrine of the Catholic church? Why if you want to claim those labels would you be part of the Catholic church – either employed or as a member?
Kangol2
If all the gay or closeted priests left the Catholic Church because of its doctrines, they’d basically have no priests. I’ve known more than a few Catholic priests and religious brothers, and almost to a person, they were and are gay. As were several ex-priests and religious brothers. Homosexuality in the Catholic clergy is rife, and some of the most anti-gay clerics in it are gay. Edward Cardinal Egan, the former Archbishop of New York, was outed in the Village Voice a few years back. People’s religious devotion is not rational, which is why they can belong to and believe in a church that oppresses them. I’ve long said that there is not a single line in the Gospel requiring either that priests not marry (i.e., to women, and now to men) or nixing the possibility of them being gay, so the Catholic and other Christian churches should be discussing how unworkable the celibacy policy is.
NateOcean
In the fourth paragraph this article mentions “an addition to gay porn”.
Is this a typo? Or has the priest starred in some porn videos?
surfpenis
“Hail! Mary, so full of Grace ….. scchhhllurrrpp!,” and all that.
Harley
I think Jesus would rather go into the sex clubs to preach then the Cathedrals of Wealth that American evangelical prosperity bible preachers reside. After all evangelicals worship wealth more than Christian principals. Not that I’m particularly religious since reaching the age of reason.
Rex Huskey
damn, he’s one rough-looking MF with a man bun. no wonder he goes to sex clubs for release….it must be one big dark room