File photo shows the scene of a protest against Pope Benedict XVI following his involvement in the cover up of child abuse by Catholic priests.
Thousands of Dutch girls have suffered sexual and physical abuse by Roman Catholic Church officials since 1945, a report says.
An independent investigative commission, funded by the Dutch Bishop's Conference and mandated by the government, reported on Monday that the girls were molested by members of the clergy in their homes or in churches.
According to the report, they suffered physical abuse and intimidation at the hands of nuns at young women's homes.
The committee said around 40 percent of the girls interviewed in the study, led by former Hague mayor Wim Deetman, had been raped by priests or deacons.
In December 2011, the preliminary results of the investigation mainly focusing on children estimated that up to 20,000 of them were harassed at Catholic boarding schools between 1945 and 2010, and "several tens of thousands" faced abuse of some kind.