Bishop calls for abuse inquiry

A LEADING Catholic bishop in the Netherlands has called for an independent investigation into the sexual abuse of children by priests after 200 alleged victims contacted help services last week.

What started as allegations of repeated incidents within a single cloister last month has quickly spread, and the Church victims’ support organisation Hulp en Recht has now received 200 complaints.

Rotterdam Bishop Ad van Luyn has apologised to victims and called for an independent investigation. Leading political parties have echoed those calls.

Van Luyn yesterday summoned a meeting of Dutch bishops to discuss abuse.