The Vatican has accepted the resignation of Grzegorz Kaszak, the bishop of Sosnowiec. No official reason has been given for his departure, but it comes following a scandal over reports that a priest in his diocese organised a “sex party” at which a male prostitute lost consciousness and was denied medical treatment.
In a brief communique issued today, the apostolic nuncio in Poland – the Vatican’s ambassador – announced that Kaszak’s resignation had been accepted by Pope Francis and that Adrian Galbasa, the archbishop of Katowice, would temporarily assume his duties.
Meanwhile, the diocese of Sosnowiec published a resignation letter from Kaszak, who has served as its bishop since 2009.
He “asked everyone to forgive my human limitations” and added that “if I have offended anyone or neglected anyething, I am very sorry”. However, the letter gave no reason for his departure.
Kaszak’s resignation has been widely interpreted as a response to the scandal that emerged last month over media reports that a group of priests organised a “sex party” in an apartment belonging to their parish at which a male prostitute lost consciousness and was initially denied medical assistance.
At the time, the local Catholic curia confirmed that there had been an incident involving the “intervention of an ambulance and police” and said that the bishop had appointed a commission to urgently explain what had happened.
The priest in whose apartment the alleged incident took place – who can be named only as Tomasz Z. under Polish privacy law – was removed from all ecclesiastical duties “until the matter is clarified”. Prosecutors also confirmed that they are investigating the incident.
Kaszak himself published a letter saying that he “apologises to all those who were affected and saddened, or even scandalised, by the… painful events” and the “ashamed priests” involved.
A bishop has apologised after reports that priests organised a “sex party” at which a male prostitute lost consciousness and was denied medical assistance.
The church has confirmed that an incident took place, though says some media reports are inaccurate https://t.co/kdJt841MLE
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 25, 2023
At the start of this month, the diocese of Sosnowiec announced that its commission had established that “Father Tomasz Z., together with two other lay people, committed a very serious violation of moral norms, which the church does not consent to and strongly condemns”.
It added that “Father Tomasz Z.’s conduct seriously violated the obligations arising from the clerical state, which may be considered a crime within the meaning of canon law”.
“Taking into account the great scandal among the faithful, the bishop of Sosnowiec decided to initiate proceedings, under which the most severe church penalties, including expulsion from the clergy, could be applied to the priest,” it concluded.
"Fakty ustalone przez Komisję pozwoliły stwierdzić, że ks. Tomasz Z. wraz z dwiema innymi osobami świeckimi dopuścił się bardzo poważnego złamania norm moralnych, na co Kościół nie wyraża zgody i co zdecydowanie potępia" – podkreśla diecezja sosnowiecka.https://t.co/EmKQ1215vm
— Stacja7.pl (@Stacja7pl) October 6, 2023
Speaking after the bishop’s resignation today, Andrzej Kobyliński, a Catholic priest and academic, told news website Onet that it was a “good decision” and that “the Vatican had no other choice” given “the endless scandals in the Sosnowiec diocese”.
In 2010, the rector of a seminary in Sosnowiec reportedly got into a fight in a gay club. He subsequently continued to serve in his position for a year and a half until the Vatican intervened and closed down the seminary, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Earlier this year, a deacon was found dead at a church property in the diocese. Prosecutors established he had been murdered by a priest, who then took his own life by jumping in front of a train.
Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, another Catholic priest, today called Kaszak’s departure “a very good move by Pope Francis” but said that it “should have happened earlier”. He added that, although the bishop had officially resigned, it seemed clear that he was “encouraged” to do so by the Vatican.
Biskup sosnowiecki Grzegorz Kaszak zrezygnował po aferze. "Watykan nie miał wyjścia" https://t.co/CK50WIXkMW
— Onet (@onetpl) October 24, 2023
Senior figures in Poland’s Catholic church have been at the forefront of a campaign in recent years against what they call “LGBT ideology”. The archbishop of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski, has likened that “rainbow plague” to communism and Nazism.
In 2020, the Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP), the central organ of the Catholic church in Poland, adopted an official “position on the question of LGBT+” in which it recommended the creation of “clinics to help people who want to regain their…natural sexual orientation”.
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Main image credit: GRZEGORZ CELEJEWSKI / AGENCJA GAZETA
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
