Monday, March 08, 2010

Almost 200 reports of sexual abuse by church

Almost 200 people have contacted the Roman Catholic help agency Help & Justice (Hulp&Recht) after reports of sexual abuse in 's-Heerenberg.

In the Dutch radio programme 'Kruispunt', a spokesperson said he was shocked by the large number of reports.

Help&Justice are now bringing in extra people to help out.

At the end of last month, the aid organisation called on victims of sexual abuse in the church to come forward.

The call followed a story from Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad that pupils at a boarding school in the eastern city of 's Heerenberg were abused by Salesian fathers in the 1960s and 1970s.

Further investigation by Radio Netherlands Worldwide and NRC Handelsblad has revealed that in 2006, the archbishopric of Utrecht closed a deal with insurance company Aegon to set aside one million euros to cover claims demanded by victims who have been sexually abused by Catholic priests.

Any damages exceeding the one million euros must be paid by the church.
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SIC: RNW