Church flooded with sex abuse claims

21 Mar 2010, 5:48 am   -   Source: AAP
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At least 1,100 allegations of sexual abuse committed by members of the Dutch Roman Catholic clergy in the three decades from 1950 have emerged this month.

At least 1,100 allegations of sexual abuse committed by members of the Dutch Roman Catholic clergy in the three decades from 1950 have emerged this month, a church official says.

"According to latest figures, there have been 1,100 accounts," Pieter Kohnen, a spokesman for the Dutch Catholic church, said on Saturday.

The reports have been logged by a commission set up in 1995 by the church to help victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, he added.

Dutch religious leaders on March 9 ordered a "broad, external and independent" investigation of alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, and apologised to victims.

The announcement was made by the Dutch Religious Conference after a meeting to discuss abuse claims by about 200 alleged victims dating from the 1960s and 1970s.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI apologised in a letter for child sex abuse by Irish priests and spoke of the "shame and remorse" he felt over the scandals.

Similar scandals have also emerged in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

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