The Catholic theologian Henk van Hout has been designated the new chairman of the Council of Churches in the Netherlands, as reported by the Council itself after the vote, which took place in the first half of June. Van Hout, 56 years old, is Catholic and studied theology at Amsterdam and Utrecht. He will take up his new post on 1st October, succeeding Ton van Eijk, exponent of the Dutch Protestant Church, who led the Council for eight years. At the present time Van Hout is the director of Light, a centre for religious communication run by the Faculty of Catholic theology at the University of Tilburg. From 1985 to 2001 he worked for the vicariate of Rotterdam, also as head of the diocesan centre for pastoral care. From 1976 to 1985 he served as general secretary of the St. Willibrord association, which deals with ecumenical problems and as such had already collaborated with the ecumenical department of the Council of Churches itself. The Dutch Council of Churches is an association of 17 churches in the Netherlands, which, through joint dialogue, aims to reinforce cooperation in society and, through common action, maintains contacts with representatives of the government and with religious organizations.
