Vatican Insider
December 16, 2011
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| Holland |
English - Eindrapport: Onderzoekscommissie
According to the independent investigation commission, thousands of minors have been violated from 1945 until today. 800 alleged abusers identified
According to the independent investigation commission, thousands of minors have been violated from 1945 until today. 800 alleged abusers identified
In the Netherlands, the Catholic Church has been dealing with a pedophilia scandal for years, and a government investigation has identified thousands of cases of abuse - many of which ended up in the courtroom - taking place inside religious institutions.
In March 2010, the Dutch Conference of Bishops opened an independent investigation to ascertain how much child abuse occurred in the various Catholic schools where cases had been reported, beginning with sexual violence in a Catholic secondary school in the town of Heerenberg.
The initial conclusions of the report have now come out, closing the investigation of the Church and pedophilia in the Netherlands carried out by the ad hoc independent investigation commission created by the Hague. The document reveals that "tens of thousands of minors" were sexually abused by clerics of the Dutch Catholic Church between 1945 and 2010.
"Based on 1,759 reports, the commission was able to find 800 sexual abusers who work or have worked for the bishops. Of these, at least 105 are still living," the report maintains.
The Commission, headed by former prime minister Wim Deetman and composed of a judge, a few university professors, and a psychologist, begin to shed light on the episodes of pedophilia. The implications are dramatic, especially because of the number of the victims and the people involved in the investigation.
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