Vatican Insider
December 19, 2011
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/inquiries-and-interviews/detail/articolo/olanda-netherlands-holanda-pedofilia-pedophilia-10958/
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The Dutch Church has been dealt another blow: Prelate Philippe Bar, who has led the diocese of Rotterdam for ten years, has been accused of giving organisational support to a paedophile association
GIACOMO GALEAZZI
vatican city
Bishop and leader of a “gang” of paedophiles: the prelate Philippe Bar (who headed the most important diocese in the Netherlands from 1983 and 1993) is suspected of offering organisational support to an association which intended to sexually abuse minors and to take part in such acts.
In 1993, the head of the diocese of Rotterdam suddenly left his post and retired to the Benedictine abbey of Chevetogne in Belgium. In the Netherlands, the Catholic Church is heading deeper into the storm. After the Irish drift, the Netherlands too is seeing a rise in the number of “unfaithful clerics”. First came the shocking conclusions of an independent commission on paedophilia (one out of five children who have come into contact with ecclesiastical institutions have been molested); now, the bishop emeritus of Rotterdam is being accused of sexual abuse.
The Dutch Church seems unable to keep scandals at bay. Last August, a commission suggested offering compensation to victims and bishops approved the solutions outlined after holding a vote. The total cost of the compensations will exceed five million euro. The indemnity will be calculated according to how serious the abuse was,” the Dutch episcopate explained. The paedophilia scandal has been plaguing the Catholic Church in the Netherlands for two years now and a government inquiry has recorded thousands of cases of abuse committed within religious institutions. Many of these cases ended up in court. Starting with the sexual violence committed in a Catholic College in the town of Heerenberg. Dutch bishops publicly acknowledge the need “to restore trust,” by doing justice to victims, allowing them to heal.” The “great errors committed by the Church leadership may have damaged its credibility,” and so, “bishops and superiors of the orders must accept their own responsibility and deal with criticisms.” A total of 137 priests, monks and nuns were involved in the scandal. Victims described the atmosphere of fear and the existence of a code of silence, which prevented anyone from publicly reporting the violence that went on. The Holy See expects the national episcopate to be completely transparent after years of obscure Dutch politics.
And so the “liberal” Catholic Church is sinking as a result of the paedophilia scandal. The Church that was seen as a laboratory of modernisation, with its ultramodern “catechism” and its neo-liberal interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, aimed to modernise the faith and breathe new life into the Holy See. Between 1945 and 2010, tens of thousands of children and young people in the Netherlands fell victims to sexual abuse in ecclesiastical institutes and Catholic centres. The independent inquiry commission presided over by former minister Wim Deetman, reached a shocking conclusion, identifying 800 perpetrators of abuses (priests and lay staff), of whom 150 are still living. One in five minors who came into close contact with Church structures, in the Netherlands, between 1945 and 2010, were forced to suffer abuse.
Thus, Benedict XVI’s “prophecy” came true. In his letter to Irish Catholics, one of the causes of abuse the Pope drew attention to, were the clergy’s loose traditions and the increased “post-68” tolerance towards sexual freedom. The dicastery in the ultra open Dutch Catholic Church expressed its agreement with the Pope. The Church hierarchies are now committed to “doing justice to the victims and help them heal as far as is humanly possible.” But the procedures currently in place are not enough. “There is a great deal yet that can be done to help victims and we want to personally contribute to this.” Ratzinger has made more of an effort that anyone else to combat abuse by the clergy. Cover-ups must be punished: 40 bishops across the world have been removed from their posts.
Recently, there was breaking news of a 73 year old Dutch Salesian priest - who is only known by the initials Fr. Van B. – who rose to fame because he openly declared he was a member of Martijn, a legally recognised Dutch association which supports paedophilic relations: “They are completely legitimate, despite being scorned upon by society,” the association said. Van B. was not the only one backing the legitimacy of paedophilia. Fr. Herman Spronck, superior of the Salesians in the Netherlands also supports von B., claiming that if a child consents to sexual relations with an adult, these are legitimate. The web is still bristling with rage over the interview between Fr. Spronck and Rtl News. No one should ever invade a child’s space if it does not want this. But there are children who themselves send out signs that it is ok. In this case, sexual contact is possible.” Fr. Spronck also talked about the seminary where he, along with many other Dutch priests, studied during the ‘50s and ‘60s. He said they were all males who never came into any contact with girls, “and so it was normal for such tendencies to develop.” The piece of news from the Netherlands immediately reached Italy and the Holy See. It provoked strong reactions from the Salesian General Curia which issued a note condemning the declarations made by Spronck. The note said that “the full and total respect of children and young people remains, for us, a fundamental and indefeasible right.” It also stated that “being a member of the association in question is completely incompatible with the principles and values of the Salesian tradition.” Few in the Dutch Church support the legitimacy of the position held by the two Salesians. The debate remains open – and often rather bitter – regarding the theological and historical genesis of the position of the two individuals. The question is: what brings men of the Church to claim that paedophilia is legitimate?
Some believe all this arose after the Second Vatican Council, when the Dutch Church pushed, more than other Churches, for the open and liberal reform of its own DNA. It was Archbishop of Utrecht, Cardinal Bernard Jan Alfrink, who published a new catechism which was very open on such topics as homosexuality, abortion, contraception, female priesthood and priestly celibacy. He did so with the support of a number of theologians, including the Dominican Edward Schillebeeckx. Others on the other hand believe that although these positions are not upheld in any way whatsoever, they are the sign of a Church that does not neglect certain problems and is willing to talk about them. Until a few months ago, the main exponent of this Church that is open to the world and to its spirit was the Salesian Bishop of Rotterdam, Adrianus Herman van Luyn. On 18 January, the Pope accepted his resignation, after he had reached the age limit for bishops. In the meantime, the total agreed cost of compensation looks to exceed millions of euro.
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