POLAND
Ocaleni/Survivors
This is the first time when the Polish Catholic Church will be interrogated for concealing acts of pedophilia. Hierarchs of the Catholic Church might be afraid of media, but they are brave enough to laugh in the face of the victim and society.
The precedent case brought by Marcin K. – the victim of a pedophile priest, is not only the first compensation case against the Chuch, but also the first time when hierarchs will be asked to explain their negligence regarding their subordinate’s acts.
The first hearing was held in June 2014. The next hearing is scheduled on September 12th, 2014 at 9 AM at the Regional Court in Koszalin.
The case is held against not only priest Zbigniew Ryckiewicz (convicted for pedophilia with a legally binding decision and sentenced to two years of prison) the abuser of Marcin K., but also against the Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg and Saint Albert (Wojciech) parish, where Ryckiewicz used to hold a rector’s position. Church hierarchs – cardinal Kazimierz Nycz (Metropolitan Bishop of Warsaw previously Bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg in 2004-2007) and archbishop Marian Gołębiewski will be interrogated during the next hearing on September 12th.
This is a public trial. Hierarchs are apprehensive to testify in Koszalin, which will be a highly attended event by journalists and that is why they have applied for a video-conference. We requested Polish media outlets to come to the trial, in which the hierarchs will testify:
1. Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz will be interrogated at the Regional Court in Warsaw on September 12th at 9 AM I Civil Division al. Solidarności 127,
2. Archbishop Marian Gołębiewski at the Regional Court in Wroclaw on September 12th at 10 AM I Civil Division ul. Sądowa 1, room 103.
According to an official statement from Cardinal Nycz’s lawyers, he is not able to arrive in Koszalin as he is ill. But as one of the greatest Catholic portals reported recently, Cardinal Nycz celebrated a holy mass for pilgrims in Koszalin, therefore proving his contempt towards society and the victim.
(Cardinal Nycz celebrating a mass on August 15th, 2014 http://koszalin.gosc.pl/doc/2122008.Kard-Nycz-Rodziny-potrzebuja-wsparcia-Kosciola) …
In case of any questions, please contact:
Dr. Adam Bodnar, President of Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), who supervises Marcin K.’s case . +48 603 608 400
Unfortunately, Polish government does nothing to treat hierarchs on the same level as other citizens. The subject of strong hierarchization of Church and lack of democratic mechanisms in Polish Church (which are the cause for concealing pedophilia even by believers themselves) was raised by Maria Mucha in the newest (100th) issue of prestiguous quaterly Bez Dogmatu. The quaterly Bez Dogmatu was awarded with Cristal Candlestick (nagroda Kryształowego Świecznika), a prize established by Deputy Marshal of Polish Sejm, Wanda Nowicka. Wanda Nowicka is also one of not many politicians in Poland who is fighting for the rights of minorities. She postualted for establishing a committee that would investigate the problem of clergy abuse in Poland several times.
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