THE HAGUE, 13/03/01 - Prime Minister Wim Kok has invited Cardinal Simonis for a chat with a cup of coffee. Last week, Simonis accused the purple cabinet of marginalizing the role of the church. Kok denied this, but is prepared to discuss the matter with the Cardinal.

Kok claimed that Simonis had exaggerated in his criticism of the purple cabinet. "I strongly reject the allegation that we are ignoring the faith," the Prime Minister maintained.

It was clear, Kok stated, that cabinet and church think differently on many subjects. He pointed to issues such as making marriage available to homosexuals and the euthanasia legislation. But Kok was willing to talk to anybody, he claimed.

According to Simonis, religion and the church do not appear to exist in the government's eyes. "The government merely sees people as individuals, and their beliefs are irrelevant. This means that the church is completely marginalized. It seems to be a non-entity for this cabinet," the Cardinal said last week.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands was also appalled that words like religion and beliefs were no longer included in the Queen's speech. But the Queen did say in her speech at the opening of the parliamentary year that art and culture played a major role in the immaterial side of life.