Citizens should not be “obliged to financially support religious communities that are alien to them”, says the speaker of parliament.
Citizens should not be “obliged to financially support religious communities that are alien to them”, says the speaker of parliament.
A leading Catholic commentator has criticised the church for allowing the bishop to go into retirement rather than facing real punishment.
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Jerzy Popiełuszko was prominently associated with the Solidarity movement that helped bring down Poland’s communist regime.
Eugeniusz Surgent remained in the priesthood and continued to have contact with children even after being convicted of sexual abuse.
Confessions, baptisms, weddings can be booked via internet
“Media attacks” claiming Pope John Paull II was negligent on sex abuse are an “attempt to undermine his authority and question his sanctity”.
The Catholic church says that canon law and Poland’s concordat with the Vatican prevent the disclosure of certain documents.
The three men had been found guilty by a lower court, but were yesterday acquitted on appeal.
The development comes as the number of newly ordained priests and students joining seminaries has been falling.
New data from Łódź and Częstochowa show further declines in attendance at Catholic catechism classes in schools.
84% describe themselves as religious believers, down from 87% last year and from 94% in 1992.
Bishop Marek Mendyk says the claims are “lies” and has demanded a public apology.
The nuns allegedly tied children to beds, locked them in cages, and beat them with a mop on a daily basis.
The Polish Scouting Association last month decided to allow scouts to swear an oath without mentioning God.