Polish Sex Abuse Victim Seeks Compensation from Vatican

The News
October 7, 2013

http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/149255,Polish-sex-abuse-victim-seeks-compensation-from-Vatican


A Polish man who is trying to reach a settlement with the Church over the sexual abuse he suffered as a child has written to Pope Francis of his 'lost innocence.'

The victim described his letter as "a cry for all children who have been wronged in Poland."

Marcin K. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) claims he was abused by Father Zbigniew R. from 2000-2001 in Kolobrzeg, northern Poland.

The priest was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 2012, but the clergyman claimed that he was suffering health problems and he did not serve the time.

Marcin K. has now become the first person in Poland to seek compensation, arguing that the Church knew about what was occurring, but that it did not react.

The victim is calling for 200,000 zloty (47,500 euro) from the local diocese and 100,000 zloty (23,750 euro) from Father Zbigniew K. However, during the first hearing on Thursday 3 September, the sides failed to reach a settlement, and Marcin K. announced that he would write to the pope.

“This letter is a cry for all children who have been wronged in Poland,” Marcin K. wrote.

“Your Holiness, the events of my childhood destroyed my ability to find pure love and trust,” he stated, adding that he is now “demanding” compensation from the local diocese.

"The fear of intimacy and lack of confidence in people mean that I cannot enter into a healthy relationship with another person," Marcin K. wrote.

Innocent?

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Polish Episcopate has stated that media outlets should apologise if a priest accused of abusing children from the Dominican Republic is found to be innocent.

Father Wojciech Gil, who was added to the Interpol list of wanted criminals late last month and is currently residing with his parents in southern Poland, denied any wrongdoing in an interview with public broadcaster TVP on Friday.

Polish Episcopate spokesman Father Jozef Kloch rejected claims that the Polish Church is trying to cover up paedophilia, and noted that new guidelines had been adopted on the matter in March 2012.