Tens of thousands of children abused by Netherlands church: commission
Reuters Dec 16, 2011 – 10:57 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 16, 2011 11:05 AM ET
ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images
Wim Deetman, chairman of the Dutch investigating Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Roman Catholic church, speaks during the presentation of the report in The Hague on December 16, 2011. An independent Dutch inquiry probing sexual abuse allegedly committed by Roman Catholic clergy said Friday it found "tens of thousands" of victims since 1945, identifying 800 alleged perpetrators.
.Comments Email Twitter inShare.0.By Sara Webb and Gilbert Kreijger
AMSTERDAM — Tens of thousands of children have been victims of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands since 1945, an independent commission said on Friday, criticizing what it called the church’s cover-up and culture of silence.
Church leaders said the findings filled them with shame and sorrow and offered a “heartfelt apology,” saying not only the perpetrators were to blame, but church authorities too.
The commission estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 minors were sexually abused in Catholic orphanages, boarding schools and seminaries between 1945 and 1981, with offences ranging from very mild to serious, including rape.
Reuters Dec 16, 2011 – 10:57 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 16, 2011 11:05 AM ET
ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images
Wim Deetman, chairman of the Dutch investigating Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Roman Catholic church, speaks during the presentation of the report in The Hague on December 16, 2011. An independent Dutch inquiry probing sexual abuse allegedly committed by Roman Catholic clergy said Friday it found "tens of thousands" of victims since 1945, identifying 800 alleged perpetrators.
.Comments Email Twitter inShare.0.By Sara Webb and Gilbert Kreijger
AMSTERDAM — Tens of thousands of children have been victims of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands since 1945, an independent commission said on Friday, criticizing what it called the church’s cover-up and culture of silence.
Church leaders said the findings filled them with shame and sorrow and offered a “heartfelt apology,” saying not only the perpetrators were to blame, but church authorities too.
The commission estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 minors were sexually abused in Catholic orphanages, boarding schools and seminaries between 1945 and 1981, with offences ranging from very mild to serious, including rape.