Janiak's resignation follows accusations made in a documentary about his handling of two abuse cases.

The documentary "Playing Hide and Seek" was posted online in May this year. The film exposed two cases of pedophile priests that Janiak failed to take action against.

The film featured court testimony about Janiak's role in helping transfer one priest from Wroclaw to another diocese; something which happened even after a criminal investigation had begun.

The priest was subsequently convicted and defrocked.

The film also documented an alleged sex abuse cover-up relating to another priest during Janiak's time as Kalisz bishop, a position he held since 2012.

In June this year, Pope Francis ordered Janiak to leave Kalisz. He forbade the bishop from having any influence on how the diocese is run pending the investigation.

The film was the second focused on Polish clergy abuse to be made by brothers Tomasz and Marek Sekielski.

Their first film last year, "Tell No One," addressed clerical abuse in Poland. The film has been viewed almost 24 million times on YouTube.

The Polish bishops conference reported the news on its website on Saturday. It posted a statement from the Vatican ambassador to Poland simply saying that Janiak had resigned.

The statement noted the archbishop of Lodz, Grzegorz Rys would be the "apostolic administrator" of Kalisz until the position is permanently filled.

A spokesman for the Polish Bishops' Conference said: "It is understandable that such information arouses numerous social reactions and evokes emotions among the faithful. Currently, we are waiting for a reliable explanation of the media reports on this event, which — once again — should never take place, especially among the people of the Church."

Sources

• ABC News
• Catholic News Agency

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In March this year the Lyon court ruled that Barbarin, "in wanting to avoid scandal caused by the facts of multiple sexual abuses committed by a priest ... preferred to take the risk of preventing the discovery of many victims of sexual abuse by the justice system, and to prohibit the expression of their pain."

Barbarin, who is the archbishop of Lyon, was given a six-month suspended sentence for "non-denunciation of sexual violence against minors."

He then offered his resignation to Pope Francis, but Francis refused to accept his resignation until the appeals process is completed.

Barbarin told the appeals court hearing last Thursday that he filed his appeal because he "cannot see clearly what [he is] guilty of."

First of all, he told the court that when he arrived as Archbishop in 2002, he considered that his predecessors had done whatever was necessary.

Barbarin admitted he knew of the rumours and said that no one disputed them.

"Everyone knew, nobody moved. Why am I expected to file a complaint 20 years later, when parishioners and parents had not done so at the time?" he told the Lyon court.

The outcome of the hearing of the appeal will help determine his future within the Catholic Church.

The case against Barbarin

The charges against Barbarin stem from complaints about French priest Bernard Preynat, who has admitted to abusing numerous Boy Scouts from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Barbarin is one of several church officials who were accused of covering up for Preynat over many years.

However, some of the accusations were outside the French statute of limitations. Of all those named, only Barbarin was convicted.

Barbarin's lawyer told the appeals court there is no legal basis for the court's decision to convict his client in March.

The case hinges on a discussion he had in 2014 with Alexandre Hezez, who was one of Preynat's 85 victims.

Hezez says he told Barbarin about Preynat's sexual violence during scout camps in the 1980's. He also says he told Barbarin he thought Preynat should no longer lead a parish.

At last Thursday's abuse hearing, Hezez told the court "I was certain that an investigation would begin. I was naive."

In response, Barbarin told the appeal hearing that after the discussion he followed Vatican instructions about what to do in such situations. He could not have done more than that, he explained.

He moved Preynat to another parish. Preynat then continued to work with children for another year until he retired.

The case against Preynat

Preynat will be tried in Lyon this coming January on charges of sexual assault of minors.

Although the civil case is still pending, Preynat has already been tried by France's Catholic Church.

In July this year, the Church found him guilty of sexually abusing numerous Boy Scouts. He was subsequently defrocked.

France's bishops voted this month for financial compensation to sexual abuse victims.

Source

• AP
• la-Croix International
• Image: BBC.com