March 21, 201214 yr The scandals surrounding Catholic priests molesting altar boys and others in their charge seems to have died down over the last year. Now, though, there is an even more heinous series of allegations levelled at some priests in the Netherlands. According to a newspaper investigation, up to 11 boys in the care of the Dutch Catholic Church in the 1950s were castrated to rid them of their homosexuality. Henk Hethuis, a pupil at a Catholic boarding school, was 18 when he told police in 1956 he was being abused by a Dutch monk. He was castrated on the instructions of Catholic priests, NRC Handelsblad said, and told this would "cure" him of his homosexuality. The same happened to at least 10 of his schoolmates, the newspaper said. Hethuis died in a car crash in 1958. Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten called the allegations "very serious and shocking" and said he would investigate the role of the Dutch government at the time. The Dutch Catholic church has said it is willing to co-operate with an investigation to find out whether the media reports are true, Reuters reports. A commission of inquiry last year said Catholic officials had failed to tackle the widespread abuse at schools, seminaries and orphanages. The commission - headed by former cabinet minister Wim Deetman - found tens of thousands of children had suffered abuse ranging from inappropriate touching to rape. It condemned what it called the church's cover-up and culture of silence. http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-17453849
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