(2 of 3)
The invitation-only indoor events were filled to capacity but proved troublesome in a different way. The Pontiff was repeatedly confronted over his conservative policies. The most dramatic episode took place in Utrecht during a talk by Hedwig Wasser, a middle-aged mother of three, on behalf of the National Council of Missionary Societies. Although the Dutch hierarchy had tried to screen out dissidents who might challenge the Pope, Wasser departed from her text, which had been cleared in advance, to ask John Paul, "Are we preaching the liberating gospel in a credible way . . . if we exclude rather than make room for unmarried people living together, divorced people, homosexuals, married priests and women? . . . Developments in the church in recent times have forced many of us, because of our faith in and obedience to Christ, to be critical and disobedient toward the church." John Paul listened pensively. Afterward, he made a point of shaking Wasser's hand warmly.
At the Hague, Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, who is Catholic, improvised on his prepared statement to tell the Pope, "In Holland, we are tolerant toward people who are different or who think differently." The clear message: You are not. "To be quite frank," Lubbers added, "simply the word Rome makes some people uneasy, if not downright suspicious."
Perhaps the Pope's most important confrontation was with the Rev. Henk Huting, chairman of the Netherlands Reformed Synod. Huting deplored the Catholic Church's ecumenical regression and blamed it on "instructions from higher authority." Read: Rome. For his part, John Paul skipped some hard-line passages in his prepared address, but the text remains the Pontiff's most forthright statement on his approach toward Protestantism. Discussion of joint Communion services is futile, he indicated, and Rome is unwilling to explore changes in the nature of the priesthood. The speech removed any remaining doubt that John Paul now foresees substantial ecumenical progress only with the Eastern Orthodox churches.
Some Protestants were irritated by the omissions, deeming the Pope less than candid. Nonetheless, the self-censorship seemed to fit John Paul's overall strategy of being as diplomatic as possible on Dutch soil and making more gestures of mollification toward his critics than is customary. Despite the disappointments on the trip, he was not defiant but uncharacteristically plaintive and conciliatory. At the youth rally in Amersfoort, he pleaded, "You must continue to tell us everything honestly. But you must also listen to our criticisms."
In another departure, during a speech in 's Hertogenbosch, John Paul defensively explained his recent appointments to the hierarchy. It was the first time a Pope has done so in public. He acknowledged the local unrest and disappointment over his February naming of conservative Bishop Johannes ter Schure, 62. "Believe me, brothers and sisters, this suffering on account of the church grieves me," said the Pontiff. But "in the final analysis, the Pope has to make the decisions."
After the tensions of the Netherlands, John Paul spent a placid day and a half in Luxembourg. He then moved on to Belgium, where the crowds lining the streets and joining the mass meetings were once again large and friendly, as they have been in so many nations. The Pope was scheduled to fly back to Rome May 21.