Pope Francis has accepted the new resignation of a Polish bishop accused of covering up sexual assaults committed by priests on minors, the Vatican announced on Saturday, after a similar decision last month.
Andrzej Dziuba, 73, bishop of Lowicz, in central Poland, resigned
“at the request of the Holy See”
, indicates the press release from the apostolic nuncio representing the Vatican in Poland.
According to Polish media, the Catholic dignitary knew of at least two pedophile priests in his diocese, but instead of launching an investigation, he transferred them to another parish.
The apostolic nuncio said the Vatican had identified
"difficulties"
in Dziuba's management of the diocese,
"in particular negligence in handling cases of sexual assault committed by some members of the clergy on minors"
.
Catholic stronghold
Last month, the Holy See announced the resignation of another high-ranking priest, Andrzej Dziega, the former archbishop of Szczecin, who was also implicated in a sexual assault scandal.
Poland, long considered a Catholic bastion of Europe, has seen the once-powerful Church shaken in recent years by pedophile cases and attempts to cover them up among senior clergy.
Read alsoNorth: suicide of a priest accused of sexual assault
Pope Francis has made the fight against sexual assault in the Church one of the main missions of his papacy and has insisted on a policy of
“zero tolerance”
in the wake of multiple high-profile scandals.