Johannes van den Brink

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Johannes Antonius Hendrikus van den Brink (born February 4, 1865 in Breda , † February 6, 1933 in The Hague ) was a Dutch author, chaplain , member of the parish council of the city of Breda, priest and anti-authoritarian socialist .

Life

Van den Brink completed his training as a priest and was ordained a priest in the Netherlands (date not known). Because of his successful study results , he was sent to Rome to study further. There he met Pope Leo XIII. know better and at times had a great admiration for him. Leo XIII. was called "Worker Pope" and "the Social" because of his involvement in social issues.

Van den Brink returned to the Netherlands around 1893 and worked as a chaplain in various cities and for a short time in Brazil. Van den Brink was interested in the social circumstances of his time and occupied himself with reading Karl Marx , Charles Fourier and MA Bakunin . The brochure "De Sociaal-Democratie en Waarom, hoe en waarmee zij bestreden wordt (Eindhoven 1904) (The social democracy and why, how and with what it can be challenged) by the Roman Catholic social democrat Jan Jansen, led van den Brink definitely to socialism .

Johannes van den Brink was one of those people of the Christian faith who brought Christianity into connection with socialist and anarchist ideas; they were generally given the name rode Dominee ("red pastor"). For example, around 1932 there were seventeen “socialist pastors” in the province of Friesland , fourteen of whom were members of the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij (“Social Democratic Workers' Party”; SDAP). The “red pastors” did a lot to bridge the differences between the Christian faith, the labor movement, socialism and anarchism.

The bishop became aware of his socialist view and forbade him to read Holy Mass . Van den Brink did not accept the bishop's suspension and appealed to Pope Leo XIII. a. As long as the latter did not confirm the suspension, he wanted to continue to exercise the priesthood and remained clad in priestly clothing.

Brink's socialist worldview led to too massive a negative reaction towards him from a section of the bourgeoisie, the clergy and the press. He published his arguments for socialism in the brochure De groote vraag (The big question. Dordrecht 1904). He described his position as saying that socialism was the answer to inhumane capitalism . That is why he was criticized as an "apostate priest" (afvallige priester).

In 1905 he became a member of the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartei (Social Democratic Workers' Party; SDAP) and in the same year undertook propaganda trips through the Netherlands at the request of the SDAP leadership (the SDAP existed from 1894 to 1946 and merged with the PvdA in 1946 ).

In 1907 he was a candidate for the municipal council elections and won a seat ("Zetel") in Breda in the province of North Brabant . He was the first socialist member of the council. Van den Brink published the weekly magazine "De Bredasche Klok". The "red pastor" was in an isolated position in the local council, as he advocated more openness and more democracy and made propaganda for his socialist worldview. At this time van den Brink began to criticize the institutionalized church and the worship service more sharply, since he saw both as a danger to humanity and social progress. Consequently, he distanced himself from the church and the Christian faith.

From 1910 he held readings for the freethinkers association "De Dageraad". Van den Brink continued to criticize the Roman Catholic Church at readings and in brochures. His importance and activity as a dissident within the Catholic Church was the breakthrough of socialist development in the south of the Netherlands, especially in Noord-Brabant , Breda and Limburg .

Johannes van den Brink was married to Maria Jacoba Hendrika Mumsen. The marriage remained childless.

Publications (selection)

  • "De groote vraag", Uitgeverij De Eendracht 1904
  • De suggestie in de Roomsche kerk. Amsterdam 1912
  • Priest-right (het motu proprio). Amsterdam 1912
  • De pauseljke onfeilbaarheid. Amsterdam 1912

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Author: Herman Noordegraaf . In: Biographical Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbewegung in Nederland (BWSA). Originally published in BWSA 5, 1992. pp. 29-32. Dutch, accessed October 5, 2013
  2. ↑ Encyclical - RERUM NOVARUM. On the workers question ( memento of June 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Written by Pope Leo XIII. German, accessed October 5, 2013
  3. ↑ Codex of Canon Law . Information about the pastoral care of a chaplain. German, accessed October 5, 2013
  4. ^ Authors: Paul Denekamp and Herman Noordegraaf . Title: De geschiedenis van 'rooie dominees' in Nederland ( The story of the 'red pastors' in the Netherlands ). In the magazine onvoltooid verleden , No. 16, 2002. Dutch, accessed 19 May 2013
  5. ^ Information about the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij (SDAP) . Dutch, accessed October 5, 2013
  6. ^ National Library of the Netherlands ( Memento of October 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Story of "De Dageraad". Dutch, accessed October 5, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Brink, Johannes van den
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brink, Johannes Antonius Hendrikus van den (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch author, chaplain, member of the Limburg parish council, priest and anti-authoritarian socialist
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Breda
DATE OF DEATH February 6, 1933
Place of death The hague