Dutch Roman Catholic Church Castrated Boys As 'Treatment' For Homosexuality

Henk Heithuis

Shocking reports have surfaced that reveal at least ten teenage boys were castrated in the 1950s by the Dutch Roman Catholic Church as a "treatment" for homosexuality, the Telegraph reports.

Dutch journalist Joep Dohmen, reporting for the NRC Handelsblad uncovered ten cases of the castrations, one of which was suffered by Henk Heithuis, who was castrated as a minor for reporting to police sexual abuse by a priest that he endured while in the boarding home.

Although the priests were convicted of the abuses, Heithuis was still transported to a Catholic hospital, and underwent a surgical castration as a treatment for homosexuality and, according to the report, a punishment for tattling on the clergy.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports that the new information wasn't included in the large Deetman Commission report published three months ago on sexual abuses in the church -- and furthermore -- that the commission received a complaint about the castrations last year, but claimed there was a "lack of sufficient leads" to warrant an investigation.

The reports also uncovered minutes of official meetings held in the 1950s, which revealed directors of the Catholic institutions deciding parents did not need to be involved in decisions -- even with minors, Dutch News reports. They also proved government officials were present in meetings where the castrations were discussed.

The Deetman Commission, led by Wim Deetman, was founded by the Catholic church in 2010 following widespread reports of sexual abuse in the church. In their report, the commission found the number of victims who grew up in church institutions to be between 10,000 and 20,000.

Photos of Henk Heithuis, curtesy of the Family Rogge, originally posted in a Omroep Brabant report.

PHOTO:

Henk Heithuis, second from left.

Comments

[Ferdinand Berkhof]

02:25 AM on 03/12/2013

Pope Benedict called homosexuality a 'manipulation of nature'. How about imposed celibacy?

[happyjoyjoy333]

03:45 PM on 10/10/2012

It not religion that's wrong.
It's mans interpretation of them that is screwed up.
Almost all religions are based on "love your brother as you love yourself, do good, don't steal, murder, etc. Be kind to others, etc."
Man has twisted all religions to suit his agendas.
But the religions are not inherently bad. And many religions have sects or divisions that do bring about good in the world (caring for the poor, crippled, homeless, etc.)
The way to tell if a religion is good? Look at what it is doing in the world. Not just on the surface, but underneath too. Jesus even accused the Pharisees of keeping the chalise clean and shiny on the outside, but the inside that they drank from was filthy. He was telling them that their words were holy, but they practiced lies. He basically told them off in no uncertain terms and told them they were the blind leading the blind. continued....

[happyjoyjoy333]

03:42 PM on 10/10/2012

continued........Even today there are innumerable examples of this all over the globe. Churches whose deeds do not match their words. Like the Catholic church. I was rasied Catholic, and taught the ten commandments. I learned what it took to be "good". That was religion. Putting words into good deeds. But the thing with the Catholic church now is that the Vatican itself COVERED UP (ie: lied) the pedophiles in its own organization, thus allowing them to continue hurting kids. I am no longer catholic, nor do I belong to any organized church. I find good where it exists in everyone, and try to build on that. The liars I try to avoid. God is leading me, not men. I trust in him only to guide me now. He shows me how to find him in the twinkle in a baby's eye, in another person's kind gestures, in the breeze through the treetops on a warm day, in newborn kittens, in a glorious sunset, in a clear mountain stream, in birds flying, or even in the satisfaction derived from bringing about some good in the world, etc.
But this is just me. Try not to paint all religions with the same broad brush. They are all different. Glean the good from them and disallow the bad. Don't give up entirely. As much as you have it in you, live in peace with the world.

[CurtisWJackson]

06:51 PM on 09/13/2012

If this is true, this article from Huffington Post, the evidence should be widely exposed to the public. Forcible castration against the consent of the child and parents is a crime that should never be hidden from justice. We can easily state leading, wicked men in religious organizations, in Christendom existed both past and present.

[katgal1232]

12:05 PM on 06/01/2012

the evil of men is just outrageous.

[Philip Baguet]

07:48 PM on 04/30/2012

What I can't understand is why there is not massive litigation to redress the abuse. Hit them where it hurts--in the pocketbook--this is something the church has learned to understand

[pinkpantheroz]

11:07 AM on 04/21/2012

It is such a pity that the bad Cathoilic priests weren't treated the same way for fancying children.
What a scar on the Church's image. There are many dedicated good priests doing wonderful work, but the bad apples will be the ones we remember, and the hierarchy who covered it up.

[adriana41]

09:25 AM on 04/05/2012

About the Catholic Church, I am going to share a joke from Argentina:

"In the discussion of the Pope with Fidel Castro, there were complaints about an antiquated, rigid, and dogmatic system"

"Who complained to whom?"

[SteveMD2]

01:14 AM on 04/08/2012

ACtually its the church that is more dogmatic then the Castros

I've seen web articles that say Cuba is going to legalize civil unions for gay people.

I wonder if the pope got a Tough S#!t response from fidel or Raul on this issue. Doesnt matter though - the pope has his own 747. and of course a pvt bathroom. Its about 10 hrs cuba back to Rome.

The poor old guy must have needed a proctologist after he realized what Cuba was telling him re gay equality.

[Star Review]

01:30 PM on 04/03/2012

When dealing with or trying to understand religion, it becomes a very complicated and emotional issue. The Cathoic Church has always been in the forefront as far as the critics are concerned. Of course, most of the mistakes were committed by the Catholic Church, and She deserved the criticism....But please bear in mind, these mistakes were committed by human beings, and thats the key issue. In all of these organizations of worship, there are counless stories of these mistakes, some more horrendous than others. But in each instance, the leaders of the Catholic Church have taken steps to prevent re-occurrance....Maybe not as rapid as some would like, but at their own rate of speed trying to be careful not to hurt innocent people including those who suffered at the hands of abusers, and those priests or other religious accused of being criminally guilty. And make no mistake about it, these efforts continue to change the face and the thinking of those responsible....The thoughts that the Catholic Church never changes are just so much hog wash. continued next post following.....JjB.....

[adriana41]

09:24 AM on 04/05/2012

Star, the problem is not those priests who commit crimes - we will always have criminals among ys - but the institutionalized cover up. As Richard Nixon taught us, it is not the deed but the cover up that does you in.

It is the deliberate shunting of criminal priests to unsuspecting parishes in order to silence scandal that we find abhorrent. Given this, more thant he Church taking steps to prevent recurrence, we see the Church enabling crime.

[Star Review]

10:40 AM on 04/05/2012

Hello Adriana41, I can easily see how anyone could arrive at that conclusion...But can you honestly say they took their action to cover up the crime?? Surely that's an assumption on your part that has no real backing, and it's not fair....To act hastily in these matters would be just as much of a tragedy as the original crime...Remember, some of these complaints dated back many years, after the limitations statute....Also there was reluctance onthe part of many accuser's to bear witness in public...Some which were proved false were found to be deliberate schemes to bilk the church of money....Do you remember the elderly priest who was sentanced to prison for touch a kids bottom while helping him out of the pool...He never efended himself because he truly felt he was being tested by his God...He said I will acept anything that happens to me if Christ desires it??? It was said by experts that if he was not a priest, he would have recieved a suspended sentance and perhaps community service....When he went to prison with a 12 year entance, inside of six months he was dead...Strangled by a derange inmate who said he was extracting justice? .....JjB.....

[Freethinksman]

11:00 AM on 04/02/2012

History will not be kind to the Catholic Church. It's sad that it will take some years before the rank and file drift away completely. In the meantime, it encourages me that so many are running from it right now. Its grip is being loosened in educated, affluent cultures. Once it's relegated completely to to the poor and ignorant parts of the world which cannot finance it's mission of evil, it will wither. At least we can look forward to that day. In the meantime, bringing its atrocities to light at every opportunity and encouraging people to think critically about its claims and actions will only speed things up. I feel so bad for its victims.

[SteveMD2]

12:42 AM on 04/08/2012

Fortunately the third biggest religion in the USA is EX CATHOLICS. Estimated at 10 million.

Even with the immigration of so many Hispanic people, the church membership is falling.

The sooner the better that the vatican becomes a museum about the endless "soul murder" of children. Estimated by SNAP at 100,000 in the USA alone.

The same church that did this in germany http://nobeliefs.com/nazis.htm

The same church that hated Jews for a millenia, laying the foundation for the holocaust and hitler's election with a plurality in the reichstag.

And here's the popes contribution to humanity in 2009

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-01-26/world/pope.holocaust.denial_1_bishop-richard-williamson-bishop-bernard-fellay-holocaust-denier?_s=PM:WORLD

[adriana41]

09:53 AM on 04/02/2012

Is there no bottom to the infamy of the Catholic Church????

[SteveMD2]

12:50 AM on 04/08/2012

NO, which includes the rape of the childrens bottoms.

[GearoidOD]

07:27 AM on 03/26/2012

In the 1940's "The 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland. was a German Waffen SS volunteer division comprising volunteers of Dutch background. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II."
Should one make some generalised comment about the Dutch people on the basis of the actions of a timy minority of it's citizens ? No of course not, it would be absurd, wouldnt it ?

[SteveMD2]

12:43 AM on 04/08/2012

Were talking about the church, and its horrible crimes against humanity. Strange God it has.

Basically the same 'god" who let the church rule Europe for a thoousand years known as the dark ages.

[glitterik]

02:34 AM on 03/26/2012

It's not a crime if the pope does it.

[GearoidOD]

07:28 AM on 03/26/2012

You are confusing cannon and civil/criminal law.

[SteveMD2]

12:48 AM on 04/08/2012

Canon law lets the church get away with anything, making up their own rules.

Which included the hidden molestation of children.

A few links......

http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2011/09/amnesty-international-report-excoriates.html

Heres how the church got more minds to control

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049647/BBC-documentary-exposes-50-year-scandal-baby-trafficking-Catholic-church-Spain.html

[Omega10]

08:51 AM on 03/12/2013

Civil/criminal law can't apply if the crime(s) is covered up & never reported to appropriate local authorities.

[SteveMD2]

01:19 AM on 04/08/2012

the pope is the congress, the senate, the supreme court, the president.

One man tyranical rule. BTW he's infallible. It sure went to his head while he did the following.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/pope-led-coverup-of-child-abuse-by-priests-7220621.html

[blogger521]

10:56 AM on 03/25/2012

Having read through many of these comments, I'm getting a very pro-Rick Santorum, "live and let live" sort of vibe. It may take a few more Hail Marys than usual, but it looks like we all still trust the Catholic Church and are even eager to allow it to continue to preach moral values.

[Asmondius]

06:16 PM on 03/25/2012

Your shallow comprehenion of the Catholic faith certainly made for a revitting post.

[SecularAdvocate]

07:24 PM on 03/25/2012

What's to comprehend? How about "the more people buy into the idea that an organisation is flawless, the more corrupt it allows itself to become".

[SecularAdvocate]

09:42 AM on 03/24/2012

http://newhumanist.org.uk/2207/suffer-the-little-children-by-laurie-taylor-januaryfebruary-2010

Great article by someone who was abused in a Catholic boy's school and how it was routinely dealt with when he and his friend complained.

[GearoidOD]

05:30 AM on 03/26/2012

And what was the orientation of the man abusing these boys ?

[adriana41]

09:56 AM on 04/02/2012

what was the orientation of the members of the hyerarchy that covered it up? Because the problem is not the deed in itself - there will always be crime and criminals - but the systematic cover-up.

The hyerarchy did not learn the lesson of Richard Nixon. It is always the cover-up that damns you.

[SteveMD2]

12:57 AM on 04/08/2012

Stop trying to blame the gays. We are all sexual beings. The gay priests did it with other age appropriate consenting adult priests

The str8 priests had no other outlet and the children were the easiest to terrorize and convince that it was their fault.

BTW in the John Jay Institute report to the bishops, it said in the final version that as more gay priests entered the priesthood in the 70s and 80's, the molestation rate went down.