Former minister Wim Deetman would like his investigation into sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands to have access to the reports of abuse received by Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and the daily paper NRC Handelsblad.He was speaking on Friday afternoon in the Dutch city of The Hague, where he presented his recommendations for the investigation.
In the past few weeks, RNW and NRC Handelsblad have brought many cases of abuse to light. Altogether, the two news organisations received 350 reports of abuse. Mr Deetman said he would like to see those reports.
The chief editors of both RNW and NRC Handelsblad say they are considering the request. They have indicated that the privacy of their sources remains their prime consideration.
Drawing a line
Mr Deetman also said his committee would not investigate sexual abuse by Dutch clerics in the former colonies of Indonesia, Surinam and the Dutch Antilles.
He said a line had to be drawn somewhere.
He has proposed an investigative committee consisting of academics, among them professor Harald Merckelbach from Maastricht University and Professor Marit Monteiro from the Radboud University in Nijmegen.
In March, Mr Deetman was asked by both the Dutch Bishops' Conference and the Conference of Dutch Clerics to lead the first phase of the investigation.
Both groups will decide on Tuesday whether they will accept Mr Deetman's recommendations.
Mr Deetman did not say whether he would lead the investigation.
SIC: RNW