Belgian anti-gay priest to speak at far-right meeting

10 May 2004

BRUSSELS – A senior Belgian priest who recently caused outrage with his comments about gays is to speak at a conference organised by a far-right church group, it was reported on Monday.

Belgian news agency Belga said Cardinal Gustav Joos will be speaking on 13 May at a conference organised by a group called ‘Belgique et Chretiente’ (Belgium and Christianity).

The senior Catholic cardinal, who recently caused widespread anger when he branded most gay people ‘perverts’, will be speaking about “Christian obligations to be respected and family values to be defended.”

Analysts say that Belgique and Chretiente (BC) has clear links with far-right parties in Belgium.

They point out that its president, Alain Escada, was a member of both the Front Nouveau de Belgique (New Belgian Front) and the Front National (National Front), two of Belgium’s best-known French-speaking far-right parties.

They add that Escada also founded a pro-Nazi and virulently anti-Semitic magazine called ‘Polemique-Info’.

Analysts say BC states that one of its aims is to fight against “anti-Christian and anti-Belgian” racism and that the group is openly homophobic.

Subject: Belgian news