The father superior of the congregation of Salesians in the Netherlands, Herman Spronck, has been dismissed after defending a paedophile priest.

The Belgian Father Superior Jos Claes, of the Don Bosco group in Brussels, told RTL Nieuws that Spronck no longer represents the group in the Netherlands.

The dismissal comes after the suspension earlier today of a Salesian priest who was a member of the Dutch paedophile lobby group Martijn.

In reaction to the revelations, Mr Spronck had told the Dutch news programme that "relationships between children and adults were not necessarily harmful." He admitted that he had been aware of the priest's membership in the paedophile organisation for many years.

A special committee of the Salesian Don Bosco group in Brussels will look into the paedophile priest's actions and report to Rome. Last week, the Vatican issued new instructions to deal with cases of sexual abuse. The instructions were meant to deal with the widespread abuse that has been discovered in the Catholic church in recent years.

Martijn is a Dutch organisation which advocates the legalisation of child pornography and sex between adults and children. The organisation unsuccesfully tried to form a political party in 2006.

The Don Bosco group is actively involved in youth work with disadvantaged children in the Netherlands and abroad.

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