WARSAW (POLAND)
Polish News [London, England]
March 29, 2021
When I heard that the Vatican made a decision to punish the gentlemen who concealed pedophilia in the Church, I thought it was a good gesture. Unfortunately, it turned out to be symbolic – said the leader of the Poland Initiative Barbara Nowacka (KO) in “Kropka nad i”.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy President of Solidarity Poland, Michał Woś, assessed that “from the perspective of church law, this is a severe punishment.”
Politicians commented on the Pope’s decision to punish Archbishop Sławoj Leszek Głodzie and Bishop Edward Janiak, who, among other things, were forbidden to participate in public celebrations in their diocese.
The Apostolic Nunciature reported on Monday that the Holy See punished two Polish bishops, who, for covering up cases of pedophilia, have been ordered to reside outside their dioceses and have not been allowed to participate in any public religious celebrations or lay meetings in their dioceses. In addition, the Vatican ordered them to make contributions from personal funds of an appropriate amount to the Foundation of St. Józef, intended for preventive activities and assistance to victims of sexual abuse.
This case was referred to in “Kropka nad i” on TVN24 by the leader of the Polska Initiative Barbara Nowacka from the Civic Coalition and Michał Woś, deputy minister of justice and vice president of Solidarna Polska.
– To be honest, when I heard that the Vatican made a decision to punish the gentlemen who concealed pedophilia in the Church, I decided that it was a good gesture. Unfortunately, it turned out to be symbolic – said Barbara Nowacka.
“Not in the symbolic dimension, but in the quality, because they were actually transferred from palace to palace,” she noted.
– Mr. Głodz cannot live in his palace in Gdańsk at the moment, but he has a fantastic palace in Podlasie and he will live there. Is this a punishment for allowing children to be harmed? It seems completely inadequate, she continued.
According to Nowacka, “it shows the mentality, which unfortunately still resides in the hierarchy of the Church, that it is enough to transfer to another parish, to transfer to another archdiocese”.
– And the penalties in the case of this enormity of suffering, still unsettled today, seem symbolic again – she assessed. She added that “it must be honestly admitted” that the Vatican behaved “bolder than the Polish Church” and that it was “a step in the right direction”.
“This is not a transfer from parish to parish”
Michał Woś assessed that “this is not a transfer from parish to parish, as the deputy says”.
– Only these are two retired archbishops who will not be in their dioceses – where they were already senior archbishops – no longer held any public functions. So from the perspective of church law it is a severe punishment – he assessed. According to him, “it also shows that church procedures finally worked.”
The deputy minister also said that “a large part of the Polish hierarchs was for the Church to finally begin to purify itself”.
– As for state law, let me remind everyone that it was us who introduced (…) as the government of the United Right to criminal law, provisions stating that if anyone has knowledge, and hides, conceals, he should be held criminally responsible added Woś.