Victims of sexual abuse by Dutch clerics outside the Netherlands will not be included in the investigation into sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. Former minister Wim Deetman made the announcement on Friday, when he presented his recommendations for an investigation into the abuse. The Dutch Bishops’ Conference and the Conference of Dutch Clerics are to consider those recommendations next week.

At a heavily attended press conference in The Hague, Mr Deetman clarified his choices. He has assembled an investigative team of four men and one woman, among them Professor Harald Merckelbach from Maastricht University and Professor Marit Monteiro from the Radboud University in Nijmegen. None of the five has a Roman Catholic background, a fact Mr Deetman made known in answer to a question by a victim of abuse attending the press conference. What he wanted to emphasise was the independent, scientific and transparent character of the investigation, something about which many of the victims are extremely sceptical.

Penetrating questions
Despite this scepticism, Mr Deetman appears to be doing all he can to get at the truth. He has allowed 18 months for the investigation and wants to ask penetrating questions about the nature and scope of the abuse, which took place between 1945 and the present day. Was it a structural problem, or a series of isolated incidents? Was there talk of a ‘culture of silence’ about the abuse? And, in the past, did the church respond adequately to reports of abuse? In addition to this, Mr Deetman declared that the investigators would, if necessary, bring in the Public Prosecutor’s Office if they uncovered cases of abuse still subject to criminal prosecution.

No powers
But the investigation does have limitations. In its inquiries, the committee will be dependent on the archives of religious bodies, archives that could contain incriminating information about clerics still in office. Asked what the committee intended to do to guarantee the cooperation of the church, Mr Deetman could only say that he would make ‘an appeal’ for the archives to be opened. So there will be no talk of the seizure of archives or the questioning of witnesses under oath. Which means that it remains possible for every bishopric, order or congregation to conceal inconvenient facts.

Restrictions
According to Mr Deetman, the investigators must not concern themselves with cases of sexual abuse in Roman Catholic institutions in former Dutch colonies. Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the daily paper NRC Handelsblad have received various reports from, among others, the Netherlands Antilles, Surinam and Indonesia. But, says Mr Deetman, these cases must remain outside the scope of the investigation, because otherwise it will become too broad. That said, he does want the committee to investigate clerics who, after abusing children in the Netherlands, were then sent abroad as missionaries or teachers.

Call for cooperation
Mr Deetman would also like the investigation to have access to the reports of abuse received by Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the NRC Handelsblad. In the past few weeks both organisations have brought many cases of abuse to light. Altogether, they have received 350 reports of abuse and Mr Deetman would like to see those reports. The two chief editors say they are considering the request but stressed that the privacy of their sources remains their prime consideration.