Dutch conservative bishop’s paedophile sex scandal

Bishop Gijsen

In the late twentieth century, Bishop Jo Gijsen, since becoming a bishop in 1971, was the poster boy and spearhead in the Netherlands of the Vatican conservative counter-offensive against “too liberal” tendencies in the Dutch Roman Catholic church.

On 7 December 2011, Dutch news agency ANP reported:

Former bishop Gijsen acted improperly

In the late 1950s, former Bishop Jo Gijsen at the seminary in Rolduc, has ‘acted indecently’ and has ‘grossly violated’ the privacy of a former student there.

This is shown by a verdict of the complaints committee of the Roman Catholic Church on a complaint lodged against Gijsen.

The committee confirmed on Wednesday a report on this in daily NRC Handelsblad. According to the indictment he is said to have been Peeping Tom while a former student masturbated in bed.

NRC Handelsblad reports another boy accuses Gijsen of having abused him sexually.

Neither Gijsen nor his lawyer showed up at the complaints committee’s session.