Court overturns Polish TV station’s fine for report on John Paul II’s response to child sex abuse

A court has overturned a decision by Poland’s media regulator to fine TVN, a large, American-owned private broadcaster, for airing a documentary which alleged that Pope John Paul II showed neglect in dealing with child sex abuse cases in the Catholic church while still a bishop in Poland.

In 2024, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) fined TVN 550,000 zloty (currently €128,000) for a documentary it had screened the previous year. The decision was issued by the council’s then head, Maciej Świrski, an appointee of the former national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

He argued that the programme “was contrary to the law and social good, harming religious feelings, in this particular case of Catholics, and disinforming public opinion”. Offending religious feelings is a crime in Poland, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to two years.