Polish bishop convicted of failing to report priests' abuse of minors
A court in Tarnów, southern Poland, found Bishop Andrzej Jeż guilty of not immediately telling civil authorities about sexual abuse committed by two priests of his diocese. It ordered him to pay 20,000 zlotys and to give up part of his salary for two years
The District Court in Tarnów, in southern Poland, convicted Bishop Andrzej Jeż on Thursday of failing to notify civil authorities immediately about the sexual abuse of minors by two priests of his diocese. He is the first Polish Catholic bishop to receive a criminal conviction in the ordinary courts for covering up reports of child sexual abuse.
The penalty
The court ordered that 25 percent of Jeż's monthly salary be withheld for two years and paid to a foundation that supports child victims of sexual abuse, Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę (We Give Children Strength). It also ordered him to pay 20,000 zlotys, about $5,000, to the Polish state fund for victims of crime and their families.
The judge who presided over the trial found that Jeż had breached a legal obligation in force in Poland since the reform of the Criminal Code approved in July 2017, which made reporting cases of child sexual abuse a legal duty. Anyone who fails to inform the police or prosecutors immediately faces up to three years in prison. "The clarification of possible doubts should be left to the authorities responsible for criminal prosecution," the judge said in explaining her ruling.
Expired statute of limitations
Prosecutors had sought a 10-month prison sentence suspended for three years, along with the payment of 20,000 zlotys. The defense asked for an acquittal. The bishop's delay in filing a report had direct consequences: the statute of limitations ran out on the sexual offenses committed against 23 minors, so neither of the two priests involved could be formally charged in court.
The case
The events took place between 2017 and 2020, when the bishop received credible information about abuse committed by two clerics of the diocese, Stanisław P. and Tomás K. Even so, Jeż did not pass that information to prosecutors as quickly as the law requires.
Before the trial, Jeż said he was innocent and argued that "a bishop cannot be held responsible across the board for abuse committed by clergy." He attributed the delay in reporting to "the ambiguity of the criminal provisions and the specific nature of each case," and said the diocesan curia acted as soon as it was certain that the victims were under 15. His lawyer repeated that argument in his closing statement, saying Jeż reported both priests as soon as he learned the victims might be under that age.
Church sanctions for the priests
Jeż, 63, has led the Diocese of Tarnów since 2012, after two and a half years as auxiliary bishop of the same diocese. Tarnów is part of the ecclesiastical province of Krakow.
One of the two priests has been dismissed from the clerical state by the Church. According to Polish media, he is alleged to have abused at least 95 boys between 1987 and 2008 in parishes in Poland and Ukraine. The second priest was also sanctioned by the Church. Neither was charged in the civil courts, again because the statute of limitations had expired as a result of the delay in reporting.
After the ruling, the diocese issued a statement expressing "deep sorrow for the suffering caused to all the victims" and said that those affected by abuse are shown "the respect and compassion they deserve." Jeż said he intends to appeal.
In Poland, failing to report serious abuse of minors has been a criminal offense since 2017 and carries a sentence of up to three years in prison. German law has no equivalent provision in its criminal code.
