NETHERLANDS
NL Times
Jun 4, 2015 by Janene Van Jaarsveldt
Buddhist authorities ignored the warnings they received in at least two cases of Buddhist monk sexual abuse, NOS reports based on a reconstruction of events.
According to the broadcaster, leaders of Buddhism were informed about the abuse committed by Thai monk Mettavihari in the early 80’s. And in the major abuse case in Middleburg, involving Gerhard Mattioli, prominent Dutch Buddhist were warned in 2004. In both cases the warned authorities and others downplayed the abuse, looked the other way and only implemented inadequate measures.
In late 1980 or early 1981 police officers visited the Buddhist temple in Waalwijk and spoke to board member Patrick Franssen. The police told him that they have received a report of sexual abuse of a minor committed by head monk Mettavihari. Franssen already had had bad experiences with Mettavihari in this area. In 1974 he had forced a 19 year old boy – at that time still legally underage – to have sex with him and, according to Franssen, it happened 40 to 50 more times in the two years that followed. Franssen decided that Mettavihari had to go and went to Chicago to report his behavior to a high priest, who in his words represented the Thai “Ministry of Religious Affairs”.
Franssen told NOS that this high priest immediately decided to replace Mettavihari with another head monk. In June 1981 Mettavihari was dismissed as president of the temple administration and replaced by Henk Barendregt. But to Franssen surprise, Barendregt allowed Mettavihari, who was his teacher, to return to the temple administration just a few months later. Barendregt was supported by Aad Verboom, president of the Foundation for Young Buddhists Netherlands, and a loyal supporter of Mettavihari. A fierce debate arose with Franssen insisting those attending the temple, Thai Dutch people, would not support a monk that is secretly not celibate and Brendregt insisting that this view is old-fashioned. According to Franssen, the fact that it involved involuntary sex with minors did not play a decisive role in the discussion. In 2015 Aad Verboom admitted that he did not believe Franssen story about the abuse and apologized for it.
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