WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — Poland’s embattled Catholic Church on Monday revealed that since 2018 it has received several hundred new claims of sexual abuse of minors committed by clergy.
The report comes as the politically influential church has been hit by a series of high profile cases of abuse and cover-ups — until recently a taboo subject in the devout country.
“What’s striking… is the fact that since the last survey we’ve had a wave of disclosures,” said Adam Zak, a Jesuit priest and the Polish episcopate’s coordinator for child protection.
“So there are certainly still many hidden cases which probably continue to be reported,” he said at an online presentation of the findings.
From July 2018 through the end of last year, the church received reports of 368 cases of sexual abuse, of which some occurred decades ago while others were recent.
The Polish church found 39 percent of the claims to be substantiated, is still investigating just under 51 percent and rejected 10 percent for reasons such as a lack of credibility.
Half of the victims were under 15 years old, the age of consent in Poland. They were also divided evenly by gender. Some of the abuse lasted for more than a decade.
The findings feature instances of abuse that took place between 1958 and last year. Zak said the number of recent cases is “not at all small”.
“What is necessary is a gradual shift of the emphasis from response to prevention,” he added.
The latest findings are a follow-up to a previous church report that nearly 400 of its clergy had sexually abused children and minors between 1990 and 2018.
A long string of sexual abuse allegations have shaken Poland’s Church in recent years, especially following the release of the viral documentary “Tell No One” by journalist Tomasz Sekielski.
Since last year, the Vatican has sanctioned four Polish bishops for covering up paedophilia by members of the clergy, and announced the resignation of two others for cover-ups as well — including that of bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski on Monday.
It also sanctioned Polish cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz after an unspecified probe and accepted the resignation of archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz following accusations that he had harassed priests and been silent on abuse claims.
The Vatican is also probing an influential aide to late pope John Paul II, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, over similar allegations.
© Agence France-Presse
