Catholic cathedral welcomes ‘Pink Saturday’ gay pride gathering with bishop’s blessing
The southern Dutch town of ’s-Hertogenbosch ( Den Bosch for short) has been chosen to host the Netherlands’ “ Pink Saturday ” on June 24. The capital of the historically Catholic province of North-Brabant will welcome LGBT persons from all over the country and beyond with a first-ever event: an ecumenical prayer service for participants to be held in the Catholic cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in the presence of Bishop Gerard de Korte . The Roman Catholic bishop recently confirmed that he will give a blessing at the end of the ceremony. Gay rights groups are overjoyed. The local radio, Omroep Brabant , tweeted “Hallelujah” when the news was made public. “ Roze Zaterdag ” is the Dutch version of Gay Pride, including a parade with provocative and outré dress and attitudes. Nowadays, cultural, musical and other events officially organized by the host city are thrown in, usually a full week before the day of celebration. It got its name from the protest marchers that...