A Dutch Way of Death

Two things explain a lot of the troubles the Catholic Church faces. First, the idea that they are only accountable to God, you know, the "my kingdom is not of this world" arrogance. Thus, it functions as a power unto itself, who doesn't need to explain or justify what it does or does not do. Second, the obsessive secrecy with which it operates. Both things were at play in the early 1950s in Holland when, on top of the child abuse, both sexual and otherwise, by Dutch priests, there was also the case of an institution for disabled  children, 37 of which died in a two-year period in circumstances that were never fully explained.

Now we know that the doctor who took care of them -- a priest -- wasn't fully qualified for the job. There was never an investigation of that highly-unusual death pattern. Once the individual was transferred, things went back to normal. The Church kept it to itself, and the police were never brought into it. Either the priest was extremely negligent or he carried out a string of mercy killings. We''ll never know for sure.

The ways of the Church.

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