Pope Francis has ordered a Polish bishop to leave his diocese and let someone else run it. Bishop of Kalisz, Edward Janiak must stay away while he is being investigated for covering up sexual abuse cases. He will retain the title of bishop for the meantime, however. The cases Janiak allegedly covered up featured in Read more
Priests in the Polish diocese of Kalisz have refused to sign letters of loyalty to their bishop after a child abuse cover-up. More and more Catholics in Poland are calling on the Church to properly investigate crimes. The documentary “Hide and Seek” by Marek and Tomasz Sekielski, which was watched by almost 7 million people Read more
Bishop Edward Janiak of Kalisz ignored child sex abuse and shielded paedophile priests, a new documentary about paedophilia within the Polish Catholic Church claims. Tomasz and Marek Sekielsk’s documentary “Playing Hide and Seek”, went viral on YouTube after its release on Saturday. The documentary overshadowed centenary of the birth of popular Polish Pope, John Paul Read more
If extra Masses were scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people would be at each of them and the risk of being exposed to the virus would be reduced. Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, who is the head of the Polish bishop’s conference, said ensuring not too many churchgoers gather at once is in line with the Read more
Poland’s Bishops’ Conference has condemned violent assaults on a weekend gay rights Equality Parade by nationalists who claimed to be defending their Catholic cathedral. At the same time the bishops said the Church will continue speaking out against the “deadly sin” of homosexuality. “Violence and contempt can never be justified or accepted – acts of Read more
Poland is planning to double jail terms for convicted paedophiles after a documentary on priest sex abuse sparked outrage in the country. The documentary includes harrowing testimonies from victims and has been viewed more than 18 million times. Convicted paedophiles could now face up to 30 years or even life in prison. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Read more
A dozen Virgin Mary figurines decorate Robert Biedron’s office in Warsaw. What draws Biedron to the statuettes of Mary is their diversity, while they all carry the same message of hope for believers. He is a gay atheist who wants to pull his country back into the European mainstream Read more
A priest in northern Poland who led a public burning of books that included Harry Potter titles and other “evil” items parishioners wanted destroyed has apologised. Father Rafał Jarosiewicz called the burning of objects thought to be connected to magic and the occult, and deemed by their owners to be an evil force, “unfortunate”. Images Read more
The Catholic Church in Poland says they have recorded cases of 382 clergymen who have abused 625 victims under the age of 18 since 1990. The figure includes 198 priests and friars who abused minors under 15 years old and 184 clergy who abused victims between 15 and 18, according to Wojciech Sadlon, head of Read more
This week’s summit between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of four Central and Eastern European nations has been abandoned following a row about the Holocaust. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pulled out of the summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday after Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli cabinet accused Poland of Read more