The Protestant politician asked by the Dutch Catholic Church to study church-related child sex abuse in the Netherlands is calling for a full independent investigation ranging from 1945 to the present.Former Hague mayor Wim Deetman is recommending that panel of experts handle the investigation, and calling on the church, victims and abusers to co-operate in the interest of understanding and addressing the problem.
Deetman disclosed Friday that 350 new victims had contacted him since he began researching the issue two months ago, bringing the total number of cases reported in the Netherlands this year — mostly dating from the 60s and 70s — to more than 1,600.
The Catholic Bishops' conference plans to respond to the recommendations next week.
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