Dutch bishop accused of abuse, denies allegations
September 16, 2010
A Dutch bishop with a reputation for staunch orthodoxy is facing two abuse allegations that he denies.
Bishop Joannes Gijsen has faced controversy since his appointment by Pope Paul VI to the Diocese of Roermond in 1972 at the age of 39. A vocal defender of Humanae Vitae, Bishop Gijsen founded a seminary that produced numerous vocations; he resigned in 1993 amid an abuse scandal at the seminary.
In 1996, Pope John Paul appointed him Bishop of Reykjavik, which he led until his retirement in 2007.
The Radio Netherlands report, which failed to mention the bishop’s appointment to Reykjavik, also failed to mention that during the years in which the alleged incident took place, Bishop Gijsen was not yet a priest.
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Further information:
- Dutch ex-bishop accused of child sex abuse (Radio Netherlands)
- Joannes Gijsen (Wikipedia)
- Religion: The Gijsen Affair (Time, 1972)
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