A number of Catholic priests who have been named as child abusers will not face prosecution because their cases will officially be too old, justice minister Ivo Opstelten has told parliament.

Ministers had hoped to allow prosecutions to go ahead but this conflicts with European law, Opstelten said in his briefing.
Parliament is planning to change the statute of limitations on sex crimes but that cannot be imposed retroactively, the minister told MPs.
According to the Telegraaf, around 100 priests and monks will not face charges because the abuse happened too long ago.
A report into sex abuse within the Catholic church at the end of last year said 800 priests and monks were involved in abusing children in their care between 1945 and 1985. Of them, 105 are still alive.