Victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic church should be paid compensation up to €25,000 by the church, the commission Lindenbergh said in its report published on Monday. In exceptional cases, the figure could reach €100,000.

The commission, led by private law professor Siewert Lindenbergh, was set up to advise on the levels of compensation. It estimates that around a quarter of the 2,000 victims who have claimed compensation will receive a pay-out because of the strict qualification demands, reports NRC.
Compensation will be calculated on the basis of the seriousness of the abuse, the commission says. It will range from €5,000 for remarks or behaviour of a sexual nature to €25,000 for rape or multiple rape. The €100,000 will be paid in exceptional cases such as gang rape or serious abuse causing permanent damage.
The scandal broke at the end of February 2010 when newspapers reported claims of abuse at a boarding school in ‘s-Heerenberg in the 1960s and 1970s.