THE CONTROVERSIAL 75-year- old former head of the Salesian order in the Netherlands, who was dismissed in May, was arrested and released by Dutch police last week on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
The Department of Public Prosecutions yesterday confirmed the arrest of Herman Spronck. It said he had been released on the same day “due to his age” and because his detention concerned “a small amount of material from years ago”.
The arrest first became public on the Salesians’ own website late on Friday, when the order’s Brussels-based superior for Flanders and the Netherlands, Fr Jos Claes, said it was “painful news” and “a surprise” about which they had just been informed.
Fr Claes said the order’s headquarters in Rome had now been notified about the arrest and he gave a commitment that the Salesians would co-operate fully with the police and with the Dutch judicial system.
Spronck was removed as head of the Dutch Salesians in May when he defended a fellow Salesian who was suspended for being a member of Martijn, a group which advocates the acceptance of paedophilia and the legalisation of sexual relationships between adults and children.
It subsequently emerged that not alone had the suspended priest – identified only as 73-year-old Fr van B – been a member of Martijn, but he had served on its board of directors between 2008 and 2010 and had two convictions for exposing himself to children.
It was also alleged that the church authorities had failed to take action against him and had allowed him to move to new parishes where he continued to work with children – including helping some to prepare for their First Communion.
At the time, Spronck defended Fr van B in an interview with RTL News, in which he was quoted as saying: “Personally I do not condemn relationships between adults and children . . . sexual contact is also possible.” He also admitted he had been aware of the priest’s relationship with the paedophile lobby group for many years.
Spronck later claimed he did not agree with the text of the RTL interview and referred the media to an official Catholic Church statement distancing the Salesian order from the aims of the Martijn foundation.
However, in the storm of outrage that followed the interview, he was removed from his position as head of the Dutch Salesians and his views were reported to Rome by Fr Claes.
Thousands of cases of alleged sexual abuse by Dutch priests are currently under investigation, mainly relating to allegations of abuse during the 1950s and 1960s at boarding schools run by the Salesian order.