Future Pope John Paul II allowed priest to return to work after child sex abuse conviction
The future Pope John Paul II allowed a priest to return to priestly duties after he had served a prison sentence for self-confessed multiple cases of sexually abusing 10- and 11-year-old girls, according to archival documents and interviews published in a new book.
The article focuses on the case of Józef Loranc, a priest who abused a number of girls in the village of Mutne in 1969 and 1970 while teaching Catholic catechism classes. Its findings corroborate previous reporting – also based on archival documents – by the Rzeczpospolita daily in December.
Loranc on multiple occasions forced girls to touch his penis with their hands and mouths, doing so on the front pew of a church during classes. He hid the abuse from the other children present by covering the girls with his jacket.
In September 1970, the priest was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison by the provincial court in Kraków. He was released after serving around a year of that sentence.
Following Loranc’s release, Wojtyła wrote to him in September 1970, according to a signed letter found in the archives, saying that, “taking into account all your behaviour, showing a desire to correct wrongs, and sincere improvement, I consider it advisable that you gradually return to priestly work”.
The Catholic church in Poland has not yet responded to the publication of extracts from Overbeek’s book by Duży Format.
But in December it did comment on reporting by Rzeczpospolita about Loranc and another priest, Eugeniusz Surgent, who remained in the priesthood after a conviction for sex abuse, which took place when he was under the authority of the Kraków curia led by Wojtyła. Surgent reportedly then went on to abuse more victims.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/02/22/f...onviction/
The future Pope John Paul II allowed a priest to return to priestly duties after he had served a prison sentence for self-confessed multiple cases of sexually abusing 10- and 11-year-old girls, according to archival documents and interviews published in a new book.
The article focuses on the case of Józef Loranc, a priest who abused a number of girls in the village of Mutne in 1969 and 1970 while teaching Catholic catechism classes. Its findings corroborate previous reporting – also based on archival documents – by the Rzeczpospolita daily in December.
Loranc on multiple occasions forced girls to touch his penis with their hands and mouths, doing so on the front pew of a church during classes. He hid the abuse from the other children present by covering the girls with his jacket.
In September 1970, the priest was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison by the provincial court in Kraków. He was released after serving around a year of that sentence.
Following Loranc’s release, Wojtyła wrote to him in September 1970, according to a signed letter found in the archives, saying that, “taking into account all your behaviour, showing a desire to correct wrongs, and sincere improvement, I consider it advisable that you gradually return to priestly work”.
The Catholic church in Poland has not yet responded to the publication of extracts from Overbeek’s book by Duży Format.
But in December it did comment on reporting by Rzeczpospolita about Loranc and another priest, Eugeniusz Surgent, who remained in the priesthood after a conviction for sex abuse, which took place when he was under the authority of the Kraków curia led by Wojtyła. Surgent reportedly then went on to abuse more victims.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/02/22/f...onviction/
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"
