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	Sexual Abuse of Minors in the Roman Catholic Church Eindrapport Onderzoekscommissie December 15, 2011 http://www.onderzoekrk.nl/fileadmin/commissiedeetman/data/downloads/eindrapport/20111216/Samenvatting_eindrapport_Engelstalig.pdf [full text] Introduction In the early months of 2010 a growing number of reports appeared about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The responsible authorities in the Roman Catholic Church were unable to provide answers to many of the question that were raised. What did the authorities know about the abuse? How widespread was the abuse? How were complaints from victims and their parents dealt with? The calls for answers to these questions grew steadily louder. At the request of the Conference of Bishops and the Dutch Religious Conference (KNR), in May 2010 drs. W.J. (Wim) Deetman drafted a proposal for an independent inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding sexual abuse of minors who had been entrusted to the responsibility of institutions and parishes of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands in the period from 1945 to 2010. The proposal was unreservedly adopted by the Conference of Bishops and the Dutch Religious Conference. Deetman accepted the request to head the inquiry and asked five prominent academics and experts to join him. The members of the Commission were Mrs dr. P.J. (Nel) Draijer, mr. P. (Pieter) Kalbfleisch, Professor dr. H.L.G.J.(Harald) Merckelbach, Professor dr. M.E. (Marit) Monteiro and Professor dr. ir. G.H. (Gerard) de Vries. The Commission of Inquiry’s investigation had to meet all of the standards for scientific research. The Commission of Inquiry based its findings on empirical data from the reports of sexual abuse it received between March and December 2010, as well as historical records from ecclesiastical and other archives. It reviewed this information in light of the social, cultural, economic and political developments that have occurred over the last 65 years in the Netherlands and in the Roman Catholic Church. For the purposes of the study, a proper understanding of those changes was required to place the findings regarding the occurrence and explanation of the sexual abuse in its proper context. This should not, however, be taken to imply that a description of the socio-cultural and historic context legitimises abuses. Priority was given to investigating and giving advice on the functioning and the help provided by Help & Justice, the former name of the agency established by the Catholic hierarchy as a centre of expertise on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The advice of the Commission of Inquiry has led, among other things, to the transformation of Help & Justice into an independent Stichting Beheer & Toezicht Assessment and Advisory Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, incorporating a special reporting centre for complaints.
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