The Buckingham

During the 1950′s, the Dutch Roman Catholic Church castrated at least ten young boys in order to rid them of their homosexual tendencies. These castrations have caused controversy since they were not included in the investigations of sexual abuse in the Church last year.

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Journalist Joep Dohmen, who investigated these cases, says that because many of the cases were anonymous, they cannot be traced. Another investigation by former Dutch minister Wim Deetman proved that there were close to 1,800 reports of sexual abuse since 1945.

One of the known victims, Henk Heithuis, accused the Roman Catholic Church of abuse in 1956, but died two years later in a car crash. His castration took place in a hospital as a punishment for being homosexual and accusing the clergy of abuse.

The Dutch government is currently calling for an investigation into the allegations by Parliament.

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