File 95 - Interview with Rene van Eyden

File consists of an interview with Rene van Eyden interviewed by Peter Naus in the Netherlands; van Eyden lives in the Netherlands. Two interviews were conducted by Peter Naus, June 9 2004 and April 29 2005. The interviews are transcribed and available electronically. All transcriptions and recordings are in Dutch. Brief English notes for each interview are available in the file. They include: "June 9 2004, Rene was a few years ahead of Henri in the seminary. He gave an interesting description of Henri's physical bearing as a seminarian. He told delightful anecdotes about Henri's seminary years and his years at the University of Nijmegen. He had made notes ahead of time to help him stay on track in telling his story. He said little about Henri's shadow side. He obviously liked Henri very much but did not want to talk with as much affection about him as Louis ter Steeg did. It's puzzling that Rene has not been interviewed about Henri before because it is obvious that he has much information about him. I would like to interview him again with specific attention for his own family background and his perceptions of the more problematic aspects of Henri's work and personality. Perhaps Rene's wife, Akke, should be interviewed as well because of her experience in Latin America and how these compare with those Henri garnered at about the same time." "April 29, 2005, 'Rene is a former priest of the archdiocese of Utretcht and a long-time friend of Henri. He was also a colleague of him at the 'Katholike Theologische Hogeschool Utrecht'. I interviewed Rene last year, but wanted some more feedback from him on Henri's time at the 'Hogeschool' and also on Henri's weaker points. He again did not say much with respect to the latter, mainly because, I think, he simply is not the kind of person who tends to be critical of others. He gave some helpful insights into why Henri was not much respected by some of his fellow priests".