Andrzej Jez has been found guilty of concealing child sexual abuse by priests in his diocese<\/p>\n
A Polish court has found Catholic Bishop Andrzej Jez guilty of deliberately failing to report two priests accused of sexually abusing children, in a landmark ruling against one of the country\u2019s senior Catholic clerics.
\nThe District Court in Tarnow described Thursday\u2019s verdict as \u201cunprecedented,\u201d noting that Jez is the highest-ranking Catholic official in Poland to have been convicted of such an offense.
\nThe court found that the bishop had knowingly withheld information from police about abuse committed by two priests who served in his diocese.
\nJez pleaded not guilty, arguing that he had first referred the cases to the Vatican and notified Polish authorities only after establishing the relevant facts. He also invoked the papal secret, a confidentiality rule governing sensitive Church matters.
\nThe judge rejected his defense, ruling that Church regulations could not override Polish law. She stressed that investigating abuse allegations was the responsibility of law enforcement, not religious authorities.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Australian bishop sentenced for abusing young indigenous men<\/p>\n
Under Polish law, failure to report certain child sexual abuse offenses carries a maximum prison sentence of three years.
\nJez avoided jail but received a two-year restriction of liberty, requiring monthly deductions of 25% of his salary to support a foundation assisting abused children. He was also fined the equivalent of about $5,000 and ordered to cover court costs.
\nThe ruling is not final and can be appealed.
\nThe case comes as the Catholic Church continues to face sexual abuse scandals and allegations of institutional cover-ups worldwide.
\nEarlier this month, former Australian Catholic Bishop Christopher Saunders was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two young Indigenous men. A leaked internal Church investigation suggested that his misconduct could have been far more extensive.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Spanish Catholic Church plagued by pedophiles \u2013 media<\/p>\n
In Spain, El Pais reported in April that its investigation had identified more than 3,000 people sexually abused within the Catholic Church since the 1940s. The newspaper accused Church authorities of responding with \u201copacity and denial,\u201d reporting that some accused priests had been transferred to other parishes or sent abroad.
\nIn the US, the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed earlier this year to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 child sexual abuse lawsuits, following a series of costly settlements and bankruptcy filings involving other dioceses and archdioceses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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