Dutch Catholic sex abuse victims think the Pope is all talk and no action; Dutch gay soldiers plan to sue a retired US general, and is Radio Netherlands Worldwide facing the chop?

Dutch Catholic sex abuse victims disappointed in Pope
Dutch victims of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church are disappointed in Pope Benedict’s letter of apology to Irish abuse victims, both AD and de Volkskrant report. The Dutch Conference of Bishops might have greeted the Pope’s message with “appreciation and approval”, but the victims are unimpressed.

“If the apologies and acknowledgement of mistakes go no further than junior clerics, it’s unreal and has no credibility,” comments one Dutch abuse victim in AD. In de Volkskrant another describes the Pope as “hypocritical” for asking for forgiveness, but failing to take any concrete action.

And religious historian Peter Nissen wonders in de Volkskrant why the Pope’s attention is only fixed on Ireland: “It’s astonishingly unworldly to say in only a single sentence that it’s not just an Irish problem. Will we also be getting a letter for Germany and then for the Netherlands?”

Pink Army to sue US general over Srebrenica comments
“Gay reproach is world news,” reads NRC Handelsblad’s weekend headline. “The fall of the Balkenende cabinet hardly attracted any international attention, but an American former general who claims the Dutch army is weakened by homosexual soldiers is world news – from Al Jazeera to the New York Times.” At the end of last week former US general John Sheehan caused outrage by blaming the presence of gay soldiers for the Dutch army’s failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

The fallout continues in Monday’s press, with de Volkskrant reporting that gay Dutch soldiers are planning to sue the retired general for libel. Communication strategist Peter Schouten has launched the Pink Army foundation on their behalf. Via the website pinkarmy.nl he’s looking for Dutch soldiers to bring a class action lawsuit against General Sheehan in the Californian federal court. Pink Army is demanding that he should publish a full-page apology in the international press – and attend a course in “sensitivity training”.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali wins orthodox Christian prize
Protestant daily Trouw’s front page shows former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali accepting an award in front of a spray-painted graffiti slogan reading “Say what you think”. Her audience wasn’t a hip-hop convention, but the youth wing of the ultra-orthodox protestant SGP party. And the prize they were awarding her was for “a person who is notably positive about Christianity”.

Ms Hirsi Ali is currently in the Netherlands promoting her new book Nomad, on a visit from the US, where she now lives in exile. “It’s odd that as a woman I should be receiving this prize,” she joked – the SGP famously bans women in their ranks from holding office. “What’s more, I’m an atheist!” she added.

However, the young Christians have read her book and reckon it shows she’s “realised that not all religions are the same”. Which presumably means they think she’s stopped having a go at religion in general and is now sticking to knocking Islam in particular. But Ms Hirsi Ali wasn’t going to be won over so easily, says Trouw. She took the young Christians to task for their party’s discrimination against women, gays and lesbians.

No mistakes this time for skater Kramer
Dutch skating hero Sven Kramer is back in the headlines - he’s a “legend” says AD. He entered the record books at the weekend as the first skater to become the world all-round speed skating champion for the fourth year in a row. Even though he’s struggling to recover from a lung infection, de Volkskrant, points out. What’s more, adds de Telegraaf, as far as Kramer is concerned it’s all just another day at the office. He says he sees being a champion speed skater as a job just like any other.

But his world record, says Trouw, must have come with “mixed feelings”. The last time Kramer was all over the front pages it was because he was disqualified in the 10,000 metres in Vancouver. His distracted coach wrongly instructed him to switch lanes, a blunder that cost him a gold medal. According to Trouw, he’s more likely to be remembered for this Olympic blunder than for his record four world championships.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide for the chop?
“Public broadcasting shocked by D66,” reports de Telegraaf  – D66 being the centre-left political party that leaked part of its draft election manifesto at the weekend. “Public broadcasters are in panic at D66’s drastic plans for cutbacks,” says the popular right-wing daily.

In its editorial De Telegraaf is actually more up in arms at the party’s proposal to scrap mortgage tax relief. But what’s upsetting public broadcasting boss Henk Hagoort, the paper reports, is D66’s plans to make a 200 million euro saving by slashing publicly-funded TV and radio by a third. If D66 got its way, Radio Netherlands Worldwide would be first in the firing line – it would disappear altogether. And with it this press review.

Postscript: D66 issued a denial on Monday, stating that it did not have plans to cut 200 million euro off the broadcasting budget, or to cut RNW in the process. Its actual plans will be published next week in its manifesto for the elections on 9 June.