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The late Polish pope John Paul II knew about little one abuse in Poland’s Catholic church years earlier than changing into pontiff and helped cowl it up, non-public broadcaster TVN reported Sunday.
Michal Gutowski, the investigator behind the published, mentioned that Karol Wojtyla, as he then was, knew of circumstances of paedophile priests throughout the church whereas nonetheless a cardinal in Krakow.
He transferred the monks to different dioceses — one as far-off as Austria — to make sure no scandal ensued, he mentioned.
Wojtyla, who was pope for 27 years from 1978 till his dying in 2005, wrote a letter of advice for a priest accused of abuse to Vienna cardinal Franz Koenig, with out mentioning the accusations, says Gutowski.
Throughout his investigation, Gutowski says he spoke to victims of paedophile monks, their households and former church diocese workers.
He cites paperwork from the former Communist-era SB secret police and uncommon church paperwork to which he handle to get entry.
However Gutowski mentioned the Krakow diocese had refused him entry to its personal documentary archives.
The Polish church has up to now refused to offer paperwork to the judiciary or a public fee of enquiry investigating circumstances of church abuse of minors.
Certainly one of Gutowski’s sources mentioned on situation of anonymity that he had personally informed Wojtyla about acts of paedophilia regarding one priest in 1973.
“Wojtyla first wished to ensure it wasn’t a bluff,” the supply mentioned.
“He requested it not be reported anyplace — he mentioned he would cope with it.” The then cardinal had explicitly requested the alleged affair be stored strictly underneath wraps, he added.
Thomas Doyle, an American former Catholic priest, canon legislation scholar, and the creator of one of many first stories of Catholic clergy abuse in the USA, mentioned Gutowski’s investigation was groundbreaking.
It confirmed that John Paul II knew this downside existed even earlier than he grew to become pope, he argued.
The printed of the investigation in historically Catholic Poland comes quickly after a Polish-based Dutch journalist, Ekke Overbeek, made comparable accusations.
Overbeek’s e book, Maxima Culpa, is because of go on sale in Poland this week.
Over the previous two years, and amid a number of stories of abuse of minors within the Polish church, the Vatican has sanctioned a number of high-ranking church officers for having coated up paedophilia by members of the clergy.
(AFP)
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