Poland’s prime minister this Wednesday defended the “good name” of the “great compatriot” John Paul II after allegations that before he was appointed pope he knew and concealed cases of sexual abuse of minors within Poland’s Catholic Church.
A television program broadcast on Monday evening, which is the result of two and a half years of research, interviews and travel, has the testimonies of people close to the Polish pope, as well as members of the Church hierarchy, explained the program’s director ., Marcin Gutowski.
The report struck a chord with a highly respected figure in the predominantly Catholic country and provoked mixed reactions, especially since some of the cited documentation came from the archives of the communist-era secret security service, which attempted to endanger the church. to take.
The head of the Polish government, Mateusz Morawiecki, a Catholic, said in a video statement released on his social networks that the evidence against the late pope is “highly questionable”.
He also claimed that the issue was raised by circles that want to wage a “culture war” against Poland and turn their lives upside down.
The documentary analyzes the cases of three priests whom Karol Wojtila, then Archbishop of Kraków, transferred from one location to another in the 1970s when he learned of the allegations against them.
Morawiecki, whose right-wing government has close ties to Poland’s Catholic Church, emphasized the late pope’s role in his country’s democratic change in the 1980s, which also inspired other Soviet countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
“The list of John Paul II’s merits for the world and for Poland is inexhaustible,” Morawiecki noted.
The day after the investigation was unveiled, the office of the Polish episcopate defended that it is “impossible to clearly establish” the nature of the acts attributed to at least one of the accused priests, as the allegations have been made on the basis of documents provided. by the then political police of the Polish communist government.
“A fair assessment of Karol Wojtyla would require further investigation,” one of the statements said in the statement.
The contents of the inquiry have reignited controversy surrounding John Paul II’s alleged responsibility in covering up cases of sexual abuse of minors in the Polish church, and come at a time when the issue has been the subject of debate. international attention. , also in Portugal.
Source: DN
