Sexual Abuse in the Dutch Roman Catholic Church

This chapter gives an overview of how the Dutch Roman Catholic church has handled sexual abuse committed by clergy since the post-war period. It analyzes the strategies the church pursued to suppress the scandal. It compares sexual abuse in the church with violence against minors in public children’s homes, schools, and care facilities. The contribution discusses current empirical findings on the issue as presented in the national mixed-methods investigation of sexual abuse in the Dutch church. It examines the structural causes of why cases became scandals, such as the church’s fragmented management structure or the clergy’s closed-shop mentality. It also describes the long-term consequences and the help offered to victims in the Netherlands. The chapter distinguishes four phases in the history of sexual abuse in the Netherlands. In the 1940s and 1950s, there was already a particular awareness of the problem, albeit limited to internal discourse. This resulted in the 1960s in counseling, help, and therapy for offenders. This sparked criticism from the Vatican, which was concerned about the clergy’s and the institution’s reputation. It led to a more restrained and muted approach to the issue and even greater protection of offenders in the 1970s and 1980s, not least due to the radical decline of church affiliation and the secularization of Dutch society. Only since the 1990s has public awareness of sexual abuse grown. The media storm in 2010 about cases in the Dutch church finally gave rise to recognition for the victims and attempts to protect vulnerable persons effectively.