A priest has been handed an 18-month prison sentence after being found guilty of four charges relating to a drug-fuelled sex party he held with two men in his apartment. The case caused a national scandal when it emerged last year, eventually leading to the resignation of the local bishop.
One of the charges against the priest, who can be named only as Tomasz Z. under Polish privacy law, related to “taking advantage of the helplessness of another person and causing them to have sexual intercourse or submit to a sexual act”, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP). That can carry a prison sentence of up to eight years.
Another charge was for failing to provide help to a person whose life and health were in danger. The others related to the supply of psychoactive and psychotropic substances.
According to media reports, during the party one of the guests lost consciousness and, after his friend called an ambulance, Tomasz Z. prevented the paramedics from entering his apartment. They reportedly only gained access once police intervened.
Prosecutors have, however, denied initial media reports that the victim was a sex worker.
A Catholic priest who allegedly hosted a drug-fuelled “sex party” in his church-owned apartment at which a man lost consciousness and was denied medical treatment has been charged by prosecutors with "crimes against sexual freedom and decency" https://t.co/lHG5iUkokI
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 11, 2024
Tomasz Z.’s trial took place on Tuesday. But judge Sylwia Banach barred reporters from attending and kept her justification for the verdict secret to protect the interests of the victim in the case.
However, it is known that the priest was found guilty on all four charges, handed a prison sentence of 18 months, and ordered to pay 15,000 zloty compensation to the victim. The verdict can still be appealed.
After the media first reported on the incident in September last year, the local diocese removed Tomasz Z. from performing all church functions. Following its own investigation, the curia found that the priest had “committed a very serious violation of moral norms” and launched disciplinary proceedings.
Tomasz Z. was also removed as editor of a local branch of Niedziela, a leading weekly news magazine published by the Catholic church.
A Polish bishop has resigned following reports that a priest in his diocese organised a “sex party” at which a male prostitute lost consciousness and was denied medical treatment.
The bishop asked for forgiveness and apologised "if I have offended anyone" https://t.co/spnA6GAc9X
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 24, 2023
The local bishop, Grzegorz Kaszak, initially apologised for Tomasz Z.’s actions then in October submitted his resignation to the Vatican.
Last year’s incident was not the first controversy Kaszak had faced during his time as bishop of Sosnowiec.
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 PAP.
Last 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.
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Main image credit: Grzegorz Celejewski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
