The Vatican has given the green light to an investigation into a Polish bishop suspected of having covered pedophile acts, the Archbishopric of Poznan (west) announced in a statement.
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The decision comes just fifteen days after the release of a documentary on pedophile acts within the powerful Catholic Church in Poland, covered by the bishop of Kalisz (center) Henryk Janiak named by name. Immediately after the documentary film “Hide and Seek” , which has since been viewed on YouTube by more than seven million people, the Polish primate, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, called on the Holy See to “open proceedings” on the cases cited.
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“By virtue of the motu proprio (an apostolic letter, editor's note) of the Holy Father François (...) the Congregation of Bishops has instructed the Archbishop of Poznan to conduct a preliminary investigation into the reported negligence of the Bishop of Kalisz in the management of cases of sexual abuse of minors by certain ecclesiastics, " according to a statement from the archdiocese published Tuesday evening.
A documentary funded by a public fundraiser
The documentary, the second of its kind, directed by freelance journalist Tomasz Sekielski, tells in detail the story of two brothers, victims, among others, of sexual assaults committed by a priest enjoying tacit but obvious protection from the Bishop Janiak. Financed only with money from a public fundraiser, the film accuses the prosecution of systematically protecting representatives of the Church from accusations immediately dismissed by the national prosecution.
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Tomasz Sekielski's previous documentary, "Just don't tell anyone" , released a year ago, has been viewed almost 23.5 million times on YouTube. At the time, it provoked a shock and a series of reactions at the top of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and of power, but since then the question has almost disappeared from the public space. Compensation paid to victims by the Church remains rare in Poland.
Mr. Sekielski's two films raise the question of the responsibility of the Catholic hierarchy, without however digging into that of the lack of reaction during his long pontificate of Saint John Paul II, still venerated in Poland. However, Tomasz Sekielski has already announced a forthcoming documentary on the "role of JPII in the cover-up of crimes perpetrated by priests" .
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