Polish bishop on trial over alleged delays in reporting claims of child abuse by priests
A Polish bishop went on trial Wednesday, accused of not informing authorities immediately about alleged sexual abuse of children by two priests in his diocese.
It is the first time a Polish bishop is on trial over sexual abuse allegedly committed by priests under his authority.
The Catholic Church has long been the highest moral authority in Poland, having played an inspirational role during occupation and foreign rule and supporting the anti-communist Solidarity movement in the 1980s.
But years of reckoning with clergy abuse and decades of cover-up by religious superiors have damaged the credibility of the hierarchy, which produced Poland’s most famous Catholic, St. John Paul II.
Superiors in the church hierarchy are accused of ignoring the crimes or, in some cases, protecting priests by moving them to new posts once the scandals were made public. A 2019 report by the Polish Episcopal Conference, the central organ of the church, said 382 sexual abuse complaints against priests were filed with the church between 1990 and 2018.
Under the Catholic Church’s internal law, bishops aren’t required to inform police of suspected abuse by their priests, and for decades they kept the cases in-house, preferring to protect the church’s reputation at the expense of victims.
Even in countries that have reckoned with abuse, it is highly unusual for a bishop to face criminal prosecution for failing to report abuse to law enforcement. In France, amid revelations of the church’s devastating legacy of abuse, a court in 2019 convicted Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of covering up the sex crimes of an abusive priest, but the conviction was overturned on appeal two years later.
According to the Polish Press Agency, prosecutors argued in court on Wednesday that Bishop Andrzej Jeż should have informed authorities immediately upon receiving credible information about alleged child abuse committed by priests in his diocese.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/202...by-priests
Catholic priest admits beating ex-lover with silver bar while trying to ROB her of family jewels during horror home raid
The mad father went on the rampage at the woman’s home in Rome, Italy, on September 27, 2021, wielding a silver ingot while demanding she open her safe.
In a bid to steal the valuables, Madeo struck his ex-lover on the head to force her to open it and empty its contents onto the bed.
The woman, now aged 70, was 65 at the time, was left with no option but to comply while the holy hothead gathered jewellery into a plastic bag.
After she managed to call her son for help, Madeo snatched her phone and smashed it on the ground.
But the rogue priest’s robbery attempt was foiled when the son turned up and raised the alarm.
Cops rushed to the property and shackled Madeo before he could make an escape.
The victim was taken to hospital with bruising and injuries to her forearm, face, scalp and neck.
She later filed a complaint with the Aurelio district police station, leading to a probe and madman Madeo being sent for trial.
Although she reportedly attempted to withdraw her complaint, the case proceeded as prosecutors had already filed criminal charges.
Before the plea agreement, Madeo paid the woman €4,000 (£3,491) in compensation.
She donated the sum to Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital.
The rogue priest reached a plea deal before a Rome court and was jailed for attempted robbery and personal injury in a February 10 hearing.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/38286165/c...wels-raid/
A Polish bishop went on trial Wednesday, accused of not informing authorities immediately about alleged sexual abuse of children by two priests in his diocese.
It is the first time a Polish bishop is on trial over sexual abuse allegedly committed by priests under his authority.
The Catholic Church has long been the highest moral authority in Poland, having played an inspirational role during occupation and foreign rule and supporting the anti-communist Solidarity movement in the 1980s.
But years of reckoning with clergy abuse and decades of cover-up by religious superiors have damaged the credibility of the hierarchy, which produced Poland’s most famous Catholic, St. John Paul II.
Superiors in the church hierarchy are accused of ignoring the crimes or, in some cases, protecting priests by moving them to new posts once the scandals were made public. A 2019 report by the Polish Episcopal Conference, the central organ of the church, said 382 sexual abuse complaints against priests were filed with the church between 1990 and 2018.
Under the Catholic Church’s internal law, bishops aren’t required to inform police of suspected abuse by their priests, and for decades they kept the cases in-house, preferring to protect the church’s reputation at the expense of victims.
Even in countries that have reckoned with abuse, it is highly unusual for a bishop to face criminal prosecution for failing to report abuse to law enforcement. In France, amid revelations of the church’s devastating legacy of abuse, a court in 2019 convicted Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of covering up the sex crimes of an abusive priest, but the conviction was overturned on appeal two years later.
According to the Polish Press Agency, prosecutors argued in court on Wednesday that Bishop Andrzej Jeż should have informed authorities immediately upon receiving credible information about alleged child abuse committed by priests in his diocese.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/202...by-priests
Catholic priest admits beating ex-lover with silver bar while trying to ROB her of family jewels during horror home raid
The mad father went on the rampage at the woman’s home in Rome, Italy, on September 27, 2021, wielding a silver ingot while demanding she open her safe.
In a bid to steal the valuables, Madeo struck his ex-lover on the head to force her to open it and empty its contents onto the bed.
The woman, now aged 70, was 65 at the time, was left with no option but to comply while the holy hothead gathered jewellery into a plastic bag.
After she managed to call her son for help, Madeo snatched her phone and smashed it on the ground.
But the rogue priest’s robbery attempt was foiled when the son turned up and raised the alarm.
Cops rushed to the property and shackled Madeo before he could make an escape.
The victim was taken to hospital with bruising and injuries to her forearm, face, scalp and neck.
She later filed a complaint with the Aurelio district police station, leading to a probe and madman Madeo being sent for trial.
Although she reportedly attempted to withdraw her complaint, the case proceeded as prosecutors had already filed criminal charges.
Before the plea agreement, Madeo paid the woman €4,000 (£3,491) in compensation.
She donated the sum to Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital.
The rogue priest reached a plea deal before a Rome court and was jailed for attempted robbery and personal injury in a February 10 hearing.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/38286165/c...wels-raid/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
