Polish Catholic bishop convicted of covering up for pedophiles
Polish Catholic Bishop Andrzej Jez has been found guilty of deliberately failing to report two priests accused of sexually abusing children.
The District Court in Tarnow described Thursday's verdict as "unprecedented," noting that Jez is the highest-ranking Catholic official in Poland to have been convicted of such an offense. The court found that the bishop had knowingly withheld information from police about abuse committed by two priests who served in his diocese.
Defense Rejected
Jez pleaded not guilty, arguing that he had first referred the cases to the Vatican and notified Polish authorities only after establishing the relevant facts. He also invoked the papal secret, a confidentiality rule governing sensitive Church matters.
The judge rejected his defense, ruling that Church regulations could not override Polish law. She stressed that investigating abuse allegations was the responsibility of law enforcement, not religious authorities.
Global Pattern
The case comes as the Catholic Church continues to face sexual abuse scandals worldwide. Earlier this month, former Australian Catholic Bishop Christopher Saunders was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two young Indigenous men.
In Spain, El Pais reported identifying more than 3,000 people sexually abused within the Catholic Church since the 1940s, with some accused priests transferred to other parishes. In the US, the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to pay $395 million to settle over 500 child sexual abuse lawsuits.
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