As PAP found out, the investigation into this case has been ongoing since March last year and was initiated on the basis of information from the proceedings regarding the murder of a deacon from the cathedral parish in Sosnowiec.
Bartosz Kilian from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Sosnowiec told PAP that among the three people detained there are two active clergy, including the parish priest of one of the parishes in the Sosnowiec diocese.
– The third person is a former clergyman, but all the charges are related to the period when each of these people served as a priest – added the prosecutor.
The former priest, who was interrogated on Tuesday, was charged with fraud. After interrogation, he was released – he was placed under police supervision, he is banned from approaching the victims, contacting them, and also banned from leaving the country.
The second suspect was charged with sexual crimes. The prosecutor’s office asked for his arrest for three months. The District Court in Sosnowiec is to make a decision on this matter on Wednesday afternoon. The two interrogated people, already suspected, gave explanations. However, investigators do not reveal how they responded to the allegations.
The third priest, also detained on charges of sexual crimes, has not yet been interrogated due to the deterioration of his health – he was hospitalized on Tuesday.
– Only today can he take part in the activities, the interrogation will begin any moment and after the interrogation we will make a decision about his fate – explained the prosecutor.
The prosecutor’s office said that the crimes charged against the clergy were committed to the detriment of minors, and these acts “directly violated their sexual intimacy.” Investigators identified the victims in this case, but did not specify how many of them there were.
Detention of priests from the Sosnowiec diocese. The Curia declares cooperation
The information about the detention of two priests was confirmed by the Diocesan Curia in Sosnowiec.
– Currently, activities are being carried out with the detained at the prosecutor’s office. As the Diocesan Curia receives additional information, an official statement on these matters will be issued. At the same time, the Diocesan Curia declares full openness and cooperation with the authorities conducting the proceedings – said the spokesman of the Sosnowiec diocese, Fr. Przemys³aw Lech.
Scandals in the Sosnowiec diocese
As PAP learned, the investigation into this case was initiated in March last year on the basis of information obtained during another investigation. It concerns the murder of a 26-year-old deacon at a Catholic house at ul. Ko¶cielna in Sosnowiec.
The findings of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Sosnowiec show that a 40-year-old priest took his life by shooting him six times with a revolver and stabbing him many times. Then he committed suicide. Both clergy served in the cathedral basilica of St. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sosnowiec. The proceedings in this case were discontinued due to the death of the perpetrator.
It was one of several matters that shocked the Sosnowiec diocese in the last several months. In September 2023, in the apartment of Fr. Tomasz Z. in the parish of w D±browa Górnicza ambulance and police intervened. The prosecutor’s office charged Fr. Tomasz Z. was charged with four charges: three of them concerned drug offenses and one was of a moral nature. In April this year the man was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison.
As a consequence of these events, last October Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop. Grzegorz Kaszak from his service as bishop of Sosnowiec, and the administrator of the diocese was appointed the metropolitan of Katowice, archbishop. Adrian Galbas.
Another case in the Sosnowiec diocese occurred in March this year. and concerned the death of a young man in the apartment of a priest who was a resident of the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sosnowiec. A priest who was a judge of the bishop’s court in the diocese was suspended from performing this function until the matter was clarified. He was charged with possession of a psychotropic substance. The Sosnowiec-Północ District Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case of unintentional manslaughter.
Pope Francis On April 23, 2024, Bishop was appointed the new Ordinary of Sosnowiec. Artur Wa¿ny. A commission was established in the diocese to investigate scandals involving clergy.
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