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 and taken into pretrial detention.
The priest, who can be named only as Tomasz Z. under Polish privacy law, has been charged with “crimes against sexual freedom and decency”, failure to provide assistance to someone in medical need, and providing drugs, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison. After Tomasz Z. was charged, a court decided to place him in pretrial detention for two months “due to the severe punishment facing the suspect and the fear of obstruction of justice”, said prosecutors.
Narkotyki, przestępstwo przeciwko wolności seksualnej, nieudzielenie pomocy – za to odpowie przed sądem ksiądz Tomasz Z. z Dąbrowy Górniczej, który w swoim mieszkaniu, należącym do parafii urządził seksparty.https://t.co/H3lbaotpeU
— tvn24 (@tvn24) January 11, 2024
The incident in question took place in the town of Dąbrowa Górnicza in August last year, though news of it only emerged the following month. The subsequent scandal led to the resignation of the local bishop (who was not implicated with any involvement in or knowledge of the alleged party).
Following its own investigation, the Catholic curia of Sosnowiec confirmed last year 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.
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
Separately, state prosecutors also launched an investigation. While announcing the charges today, they confirmed that three people were involved in the incident: Tomasz Z.; a man who lost consciousness and is being treated as a victim; and a third person who had called for help, reports PAP.
Previous reports by the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper – which first broke the story – claimed, based on police reports, that the man who lost consciousness was a prostitute.
But prosecutors now say that he did not derive any financial benefit from the event and they have “firmly denied” he was a prostitute, reports PAP.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, during the party the men took potency medication and drank alcohol. When one of them lost consciousness, his friend called an ambulance but Tomasz Z. refused to let paramedics into the apartment until police intervened.
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
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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.
