Polish Church no longer spared from sex abuse scandals

The Polish Catholic Church has faced a difficult period since summer after a series of highly publicized child sex abuse cases involving priests and the attitude of the hierarchy to the issue emerged into the public domain.

Meanwhile, the film Kler (Clergy), a virulent attack on the failings of Church leaders by director Wojtek Smarzowski, opened in cinemas at the end of September, evoking strong reactions.

On one hand, some Catholics have called for boycotts and offered prayers at Czestochowa “for our pastors.”

On the other, the film has broken attendance records with 2.5 million people in two weeks, equivalent to one in ten Poles.

A few days later, a court of appeal in Poznam awarded 1 million zlotys (around 250,000 euros) in damages plus a life tenancy to a young woman, who was raped and trapped at the age of 13 by a priest belonging to a religious order.

It was an unprecedented judicial decision in Poland. Not only was it an extremely high award for an average citizen but the judges also held the congregation responsible for paying the damages.

Galvanized by this sudden visibility, defenders of priests’ victims have begun to mobilize.

“Citizenship culture is still weak in Poland but this is a significant moment for overcoming the silence,” said Artur Nowak, a lawyer and member of the association of victims of pedophile priests, “Be Not Afraid.”

“There has been a marked change in public opinion since the resignation of the Chilean bishops in May,” he said.

According to a recent opinion poll, 73 percent of Poles believe that the Church has badly managed the pedophile priest problem.

However, these criticisms also have a political motivation, added Nowak.

“People have had enough of the alliance between the Church and the government and this discontent has led to a new view of the clergy by the Polish people,” he said.

As a result, the Be Not Afraid group coordinated a series of demonstrations in seven cities on Oct. 7.

“Covering up pedophilia is a crime!” “You will no longer remain silent – We are protecting the life of children!” chanted 200 people in the streets of Warsaw as they carried banners illustrating “the map of child sex abuse in the Church.”

The map, which has also been published on the web, lists all known cases of child sex abuse, including 63 priests convicted, another 50 accused plus 300 victims.

“That is just the tip of the iceberg,” Nowak said. “Since it was posted online, we have received over 150 new phone calls from people aged from 30 to 85.”

The Be Not Afraid association has now called on government authorities to create an independent commission of experts to study the archives and publish the statistics on the issue since 1945.

It is also demanding action against bishops who sought to cover up the scandals and moved perpetrators from one parish to another.

Polish bishops have announced that they will compile statistics to measure the extent of the problem. However, it is not clear whether the figures will be made public.

Meanwhile, several bishops have already published the information at their disposal and requested forgiveness from the faithful.

“Transparency is absolutely necessary,” said Father Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, the spokesperson for the bishops.

He said that the Polish Church first began to implement appropriate directives in 2009, even before it received instructions to do so from the Holy See in 2010.

“We have procedures in place but sometimes they have not been applied,” said Father Piotr Stunicki, media coordinator for the Center for the Protection of the Child, a body that trains priests, which was created in 2014 by the Ignatianum Academny in Krakow.

“There are some bishops who do not realize the seriousness of the situation,” he said.

“In each diocese, there is a delegate for the protection of children who is trained to deal with all complaints of this nature,” he said. “However, the contact details of this person are only accessible in 18 dioceses out of 41.”

Father Stunicki is convinced that it is an ongoing problem.

“The Church is responding and implementing measures but there is also a certain level of quiet resistance among Church leaders,” he said.

“They believe that it is indecent to speak publicly about these issues yet that is exactly why it is important to demonstrate to the faithful that these affairs cannot be swept under the carpet!”