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Thousands of Kids Abused in Dutch Catholic Church

Institutions did little to halt epidemic, help survivors: report

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 16, 2011 8:45 AM CST

(Newser) – Thousands of children were sexually abused in the Netherlands' Catholic organizations, says an independent inquiry, which concludes that church leaders didn't do enough to end the problem or help victims, reports AP. The inquiry estimates that between 10,000 and 20,000 kids were abused from 1945 to 1981 in church institutions, notes the New York Times. The abuse included "several thousand" cases of rape.

The conference of Roman Catholic Bishops in the Netherlands said it was "shocked" by the report. It "fills us with shame and sorrow," said the bishops. The commission that conducted the inquiry, established by a former government minister last year, found that Catholic organizations were hampered by "a failure of oversight." One issue was a tendency to deal with such problems within the organization rather than airing "their dirty laundry."

People protest child abuse by priests, in the Hague. (AP Photo/Rob Keeris)

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Showing 3 of 22 comments

reno-reines

Dec 16, 2011 5:26 PM CST

Any documents to back up their claims? 10,000 to 20,000 kids found like a serious case. Be careful to coming to conclusions just because a news corporation just released the story in 5 seconds.

fractal

Dec 16, 2011 2:50 PM CST

Holland is not Ireland. The Dutch are not going to just shrug off this news. Interesting to see what could happen next. The Vatican is a bona-fide country---lets see if they call the Hague to investigate.

Jingo

Dec 16, 2011 11:59 AM CST

5,000,000 Dutch Catholics today. 20,000 molested as children. Assume half were children in the years in question, and you get a molestation rate of 5%.

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Thousands of Kids Abused in Dutch Catholic Church

Institutions did little to halt epidemic, help survivors: report

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Catholic Church • Netherlands • child abuse • Catholic Church sex scandals

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