The Catholic diocese of Kalisz has been ordered by a courtroom to pay 300,000 zloty (€65,000) to a person who was abused as a baby by certainly one of its monks.
The case is certainly one of a quantity regarding sexual abuse in Poland’s Catholic church which have come to gentle lately. It has drawn explicit consideration as a result of the sufferer, Bartłomiej Pankowiak, and his brother Jakub, who was additionally abused, confronted the priest in a documentary movie broadcast in 2020 (pictured above).
“Jakub and Bartłomiej Pankowiak will eternally stay synonymous with the struggle for their very own and different individuals’s dignity, in addition to for being the initiators of systemic adjustments inside the church…[regarding] sexual abuse in opposition to youngsters,” mentioned decide Arleta Konieczna, quoted by the Polish Press Company (PAP).
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In her ruling right this moment at Kalisz district courtroom on a civil motion introduced by Bartłomiej, she ordered the diocese to pay him the compensation. The ruling is just not but legally binding and may be appealed.
The authorized representatives of the diocese mentioned that they are going to wait till they obtain the total written justification earlier than deciding on an enchantment. Throughout the proceedings, they’d argued that the diocese shouldn’t be held chargeable for the actions of a parish priest, reviews TVN24.
Konieczna famous that the abuse started when Bartłomiej, now 33, was 10 years outdated and his brother was 13. It then continued with “many acts, unfold over time”, that had everlasting psychological results on the victims, who didn’t inform anybody about what had occurred to them for years.
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The priest in query – who may be named solely as Arkadiusz H. underneath Polish privateness regulation – typically visited the boys’ dwelling, as their father was a church organist. He would lock himself in a room with the boys, flip off the lights, then abuse them.
The crimes got here to gentle when Bartłomiej and Jakub confronted Arkadiusz H. on digicam within the documentary, Conceal and Search, and sought to carry him to justice.
As they chased leads, they uncover extra of his victims, but have been met with an absence of compassion from the church officers they handled. Additionally they sought to carry to account these within the church hierarchy who have been chargeable for transferring the priest from parish to parish each time his abusive behaviour got here to gentle.
Poland’s Catholic church obtained as many abuse reviews since 2018 as in earlier three many years
In 2020, Edward Janiak, the bishop of Kalisz, was faraway from his place by the Vatican on account of his negligence in coping with instances of abuse.
In the meantime, Arkadiusz H. was suspended from the priesthood after which later sentenced to 3 years in jail by a felony courtroom. Nonetheless, that sentence was final 12 months quashed on enchantment after the decide discovered that the statute of limitations for the crime had expired.
The decide expressed remorse at having to make that ruling on a technicality, noting that Arkadiusz H. had confessed his guilt. He criticised the church for “hiding such issues underneath the rug” by “transferring the priest to a different parish” moderately than taking motion in opposition to him, reviews TVN24.
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Conceal and Search – in addition to one other documentary, Inform No One, by the identical filmmakers on the identical topic a 12 months earlier – prompted outrage and debate in Poland, a rustic the place 90% of the inhabitants is formally categorized as Catholic and the church enjoys an influential position in public life.
Subsequently, a lot of additional instances of abuse have come to gentle. In a report revealed final 12 months, the church itself famous that between July 2018 and the tip of 2020 it obtained as many reviews of alleged abuse by clergy because it had within the earlier 28 years mixed.
The Vatican has punished numerous different Polish bishops, along with Janiak, for his or her negligence in coping with abuse. Nonetheless, final month it cleared Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – a former secretary to Polish Pope John Paul II – of the identical offence.
Polish cardinal accused of ignoring intercourse abuse cleared of wrongdoing by the Vatican
Predominant picture credit score: Zabawa w chowanego (screenshot)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a variety of publications, together with Overseas Coverage, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
