Dutch bishops shredded sex abuse evidence
Dutch bishops destroyed incriminating evidence of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Secret archives of the diocese of Den Bosch, which showed that priests had committed abuse, were shredded.
This is the main allegation made in a statement sent by historian Eric Theloosen to the Deetman Commission in September. The commission, which is investigating child sex abuse in the church, did not respond to the historian. Mr Theloosen researched the diocese’s archives in the 1990s. Radio Netherlands Worldwide and daily NRC Handelsblad have obtained a copy of his statement.
Secret archives
Mr Theloosen’s statement shows that Bishop Jan Bluyssen of Den Bosch destroyed documents about abuse cases during the 1970s. The documents had been gathered in an archive by his predecessor, Monsignor Wilhelmus Marinus Bekkers. During the 1990s, the diocese of Den Bosch again maintained a secret archive on strayed priests. Built up under Bishop Jan ter Schure, this archive, too, has vanished.