In total, 1,585 people registered complaints about sexual abuse by Catholic church officials by the deadline of June 30, the organisation collecting complaints said on Tuesday.

Most of the victims – 1,309 – were men. The deadline applies to complaints made against church officials who have either died or whose crimes took place so long ago they can no longer be taken to court.

Since the registration system was set up, 448 people have been given financial compensation, averaging €30,700. In 160 very serious cases, the payout averaged over €60,000.

In total, the church has paid out €13.7m in compensation to victims.

Report

At least 800 Catholic priests and monks were involved in abusing children in their care between 1945 and 1985, according to a comprehensive report into the church sexual abuse scandal published on December 16, 2011.

In addition, church officials, bishops and lay people were aware of what was going on but failed to take action to protect children, the commission, led by former Christian Democratic party chairman Wim Deetman, said.

The commission was set up by the Catholic church in March 2010 after the sexual abuse scandal broke in the Netherlands and hundreds of victims came forward. A number of cases have been taken to court.