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	Priest Told to Leave Partner Sydney Morning Herald November 12, 2011 http://www.smh.com.au/world/priest-told-to-leave-partner-20111112-1ncsm.html THE HAGUE: The Catholic Church has ordered an 81-year-old priest to leave his partner of 46 years or be forced to quit the priesthood. Father Jan Peijnenburg's relationship with Threes van Dijck, 85, was unacceptable to other priests, the Den Bosch diocese in the central Netherlands said. "We are giving him the choice: either he leaves his partner or he leaves the priesthood," said a diocesan spokesman, Michiel Savelsbergh. Advertisement: Story continues below "We cannot allow him to do that which is forbidden to others." But Father Peijnenburg told the daily newspaper AD, through a friend, that the church had known of his relationship for about a decade. In a veiled admission of complicity, the diocese said it had given the ultimatum after Father Peijnenburg wrote a leaflet criticising priestly celibacy which "confirmed what we knew". "Other priests reacted and, as we had had a written confirmation, we couldn't leave things as they were," Mr Savelsbergh said. Catholic priests are forbidden to marry, except in certain cases where married clergy convert to Catholicism from other religions. Father Peijnenburg has until December 1 to decide but, according to AD, his choice is already made: love over religion. "Naturally I choose Threes. We are staying together," Father Peijnenburg said.
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