Dutch police on the hunt for evidence against paedophile bishop

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A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST PAEDOPHILE PRIESTS

Interpol has asked police to investigate into the case of a prelate Emeritus, after “fresh accusations of sexual abuse”

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITYInterpol has asked the Dutch police to investigate into the case of a priest, after “fresh accusations of sexual abuse” were made. Cor.S (these are the prelate’s initials) is a Bishop Emeritus with a Dutch passport, who served as a minister in Africa until 2009. What sparked the request for an investigation into the bishop’s behaviour was an information note sent by the Irish police’s “Sexual crimes” division. In the Netherlands, both the police and the judiciary received “alarming” indications about the bishop’s conduct. He is one of six prelates in the Catholic Church being accused by Kenya’s Seminarian, Emmanuel Shikuku. The declarations made by this aspiring African priest, implicate some clerics working in the “Mill Hill” missionary society which is based in the UK. The six men under accusation told “Radio Netherlands” that all statements against them were false. A year ago, the Dutch Episcopal Conference launched an inquiry, in order to ascertain what had happened in a number of Catholic schools where cases of abuse against children had been reported. The Dutch Episcopate has assured that the investigation currently being carried out into the alleged acts of sexual violence is “extensive, external and independent.”

Dutch bishops are “deeply shocked” by the stories involving minors, which have emerged since January 2010. The case emerged within the Catholic education world. And it is not just priests in Catholic schools that are being blamed. Some nuns are also being accused of acts of abuse that date back to the ‘50s. One of the stories that has really shaken public opinion, is that of 63 year old Herman Harends, who recalls the upsetting experience he had at the age of 11 when he attended a Catholic college in Tegelen, a town in the southern Netherlands. “I never spoke about it until now, because these are accusations that are difficult to bear and feel – he declared to Dutch the mass media. I am not seeking revenge or looking for excuses, a lot of the nuns are already dead. And I don’t think this is an isolated case.”

Before the Dutch Episcopal Conference, the Salesian Order had announced that an investigation would be opened, to look into the acts of sexual abuse that have allegedly been committed by members of the clergy, in a student residence in Arnhem, in the ‘60s. Since then, the Episcopal advisory committee formed in 1995, to help victims of sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, has had 280 victims come forward. The Vatican has been very clear with regards to its position on the scandals that have hit the Catholic Church in a number of Countries, from Germany to Ireland. The Church has “faced the emerging problem in a timely and decisive manner,” the Holy See’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said. In a note sent to the Vatican Radio, the Pope’s spokesman also explained that “concentrating accusations against the Church alone, will lead to a distorted perspective.” Indeed, “the main ecclesiastical institutions involved” in the storm of the paedophilia scandal, “have dealt with the emerging problem in a timely and decisive manner; they have proven their willingness to be transparent and in a way they have helped bring the problem to the surface quicker, by inviting victims to speak out, even if their experiences date back a long time.” As such, “they way they have gone about dealing with the problem is right, because the right way to start, is to recognise what has happened, the concern for victims of abuse and the consequences of the acts committed against them.”

The debate going on within the Dutch Catholic Church, about who is to take responsibility for the scandal, is particularly fierce. Some say it all started in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, when the Dutch Church pushed for open and liberal reforms to its identity, much more than other churches did. It was Cardinal Bernard Jan Alfrink, Archbishop of Utrecht, who published a new catechism which was far more open on topics such as homosexuality, abortion, contraceptive practices, the ordination of women and priestly celibacy. He was helped in this, by a number of theologians, including the Dominican, Edward Schillebeeckx. According to others, however, although these liberal positions are not shared by the Church in any way, are a sign that this Church does not ignore certain problems and is willing to talk about them. Up until a few months ago, the main interpreter of this Church that is open to the world and its spirit was Adrianus Herman van Luyn, the Bishop of Rotterdam, another Salesian. On 18 January, the Pope accepted his resignation, as he had reached the age limit for bishops.