The court wants documents from Archbishop Gądecki. If they are not obtained, the police will search the curia in Poznań

3 comments

1. Translation:

   **It’s an unprecedented event. The District Court in Chodzież in Wielkopolska demands that the Poznań curia release documents in the case of a priest accused of raping an altar boy over many years. If the court does not receive them, the police will search the headquarters of the curia in Poznań. The addressee of the letter from the court is Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, Poznań Metropolitan and Chairman of the Episcopate. Gazeta Wyborcza was the first to write about the court’s request.**

   Szymon’s story is similar to the fate of other victims of priests. But it also has its specificity. The altar boy came from a poor family where alcohol was a problem. He met Father Krzysztof G. when he took over the parish in Chodzież. The clergyman began taking Szymon on rides, outings and shopping trips. As investigators would later write, the rapes began in 2002 and ended in 2013. By then, Szymon was a grown man. He was still financially dependent on the priest and on alcohol, which the priest had started giving him for many years. Many of the rapes took place when Szymon was intoxicated.

   Szymon did not speak out about his abuse until 2015. The impulse was confession and penance inflicted by one of the priests. Then he reported the case to the Poznań curia. Father Krzysztof G. was then a respected parish priest in one of the parishes south of Poznań. At first not much happened, the priest continued to work in the parish. When Szymon felt that the curia was dragging its feet in explaining the case, he also notified the prosecutor’s office.

   The curia and the prosecutor’s office conducted their own proceedings. First the canonical proceedings ended. Father Krzysztof G. was expelled from the priesthood. According to Onet’s findings, during the canonical proceedings he admitted to abusing Szymon. He claimed that… the altar boy was dressing provocatively.

   However, during the proceedings before the prosecutor’s office, the priest denied that he had harmed the altar boy. That is why the investigators from Chodzież demanded several years ago that the Poznan curia release documents with its findings. At the time, priests from the curia hid behind professional secrecy. They claimed that they could not disclose to secular institutions what they had found in canonical proceedings.

   They invoked, among others, the papal secrecy and concordat. Therefore, the prosecution applied to the court in Chodzież for exemption from professional secrecy of Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, who heads the curia in Poznań. The court released him from secrecy, but then the clergyman began to claim that there are no longer any documents from this case in Poznań. Apparently, everything was handed over to the Vatican.

   Szymon’s lawyer has long demanded that the curia’s documents be disclosed
   Priests from the bishop’s court in Poznań presented different interpretations. Although they dealt with the case of priest Krzysztof G., at first they concealed their professional secrecy and then problems with memory. They also did not help the prosecutor’s office to clarify the story.

   The prosecutor’s office in Chodzież considered searching the Poznań curia at the time. It suspected that, contrary to the assurances of the priests, there were at least copies of documents from the canonical proceedings in Poznan. The intentions of the Chodzież district prosecutor’s office were stopped by the National Prosecutor’s Office. It concluded that the investigation against Krzysztof G. could be completed without analyzing the files from the canonical proceedings. It indicated that it is necessary to rely on what is there, which is mainly the testimony of witnesses.

   An indictment has already been filed in court, and the trial of former priest Krzysztof G. has been going on since August. Behind closed doors, the public was excluded from the case. Now the judge, Katarzyna Orzeł, who is presiding over the trial, demands from the curia to hand over documents from the canonical proceedings. She found them to be of vital importance.

   Lawyer Artur Nowak, the attorney for the wronged altar boy, is satisfied with the court’s position.

   – I have been demanding disclosure of these documents for a long time. It cannot be that some entity refuses to release documents which are important for criminal proceedings. In the church proceedings the accused former priest and the witnesses were questioned, and the evidence gathered resulted in his expulsion from the priesthood. The court in Chodzież should have the opportunity to get acquainted with these documents – emphasizes attorney Nowak.

   Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator

2. It’s about fucking time someone holds the church accountable for anything that they do. I’m not optimistic though – Ziobro will probably just throw out the whole proceedings and have the judge heavily sanctioned at the very least.

3. It’s nice of the police to give them such a swift heads up and let them destroy any evidence in advance.