A Polish cardinal and former personal secretary to Pope John Paul II accused of ignoring cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic church has been exonerated by a Vatican investigation, which found that he had acted “properly” during his time as archbishop of Kraków between 2005 and 2016.
The cardinal in question, Stanisław Dziwisz, has welcomed the decision and says that he “forgives” the harm done to him. However, a Polish journalist who revealed many of the accusations against Dziwisz has cast doubt on the thoroughness of the Vatican’s investigation.
Nuncjatura Apostolska informuje, że analiza dokumentacji zebranej przez kard. Bagnasco, dot. działań kard. Dziwisza podczas pełnienia przez niego funkcji arcybiskupa metropolity krakowskiego "pozwoliła ocenić te działania kard. Stanisława Dziwisza jako prawidłowe".#SerwisKAI pic.twitter.com/yeuPHajt8R
— Agencja KAI (@agencja_KAI) April 22, 2022
In a brief statement issued today, the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland – the Holy See’s diplomatic representative – announced that its investigation into “some cases” relating to Dziwisz during his time as archbishop of Kraków found that he had “acted properly” and that no further proceedings were necessary.
It gave no further details of the evidence gathered by or findings of the investigation, which was ordered by Pope Francis in June last year and carried out by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the former archbishop of Genoa.
That had come after Dziwisz faced a series of accusations of wrongdoing. An investigation aired by TVN, Poland’s largest private broadcaster, claimed that the cardinal had ignored cases of sex abuse and accepted bribes.
The cardinal has also faced such claims from within Poland’s Catholic community. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, a Polish priest, has accused Dziwisz of ignoring reported abuse. Isakowicz-Zaleski was among those interviewed by Bagnasco. He has not yet commented publicly on today’s announcement.
While some accusations against Dziwisz relate to his time as archbishop of Kraków, others refer to the period in which he served as private secretary to John Paul II. Those allegations were not subject to the Vatican investigation.
TVN journalist Marcin Gutowski, who led the station’s investigation into Dziwisz, said today that he is “not surprised” by the Vatican’s declared findings. This is how they “solve matters”, he said, before claiming that Bagnasco had not spoken to any of the alleged sex abuse victims in Kraków diocese that Gutowski was aware of.
Dziwisz himself, however, announced today that he is “grateful to the Vatican for a fair judgement of the case”. He said that the claims against him were “unjustified and hurtful” but that he “forgives the harm done to me”.
The Catholic church in Poland has in recent years faced growing scrutiny and criticism for its alleged failures in dealing with sex abuse by clergy. In response, the Vatican has disciplined a number of senior Polish clergy.
Last year, it punished the former archbishop of Gdańsk, Sławoj Leszek Głódź, and former bishop of Kalisz, Edward Janiak, for their “negligence” in dealing with cases of abuse.
Meanwhile, the church in Poland has sought to strengthen its safeguarding measures for children and mechanisms for dealing with claims of abuse. In June last year it revealed that between 2018 and 2020 it had received almost as many abuse reports as in the previous three decades combined.
In December, the current archbishop of Kraków issued a new set of rules for priests with the aim of protecting children from abuse. The decree – which is the first of its kind in Poland – includes a ban on priests receiving children in their homes and on keeping images of them without parental consent.
Main image credit: Fot. Jakub Porzycki / Agencja Gazeta
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
