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Vatican

Poland asks for Vatican's data in church sex abuse probes

The request comes after Poland's own church has not provided the data

Associated Press
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Poland’s state commission for fighting sex abuse of minors said Thursday it has asked the Vatican for data on abuse by the clergy in Poland because the church there is not providing the requested information.

Head of the commission Blazej Kmieciak said that some 30% of cases of abuse of persons under age 15 that the commission is analyzing relate to the clergy.

He said, however, that despite written requests made earlier this year to regional leaders of Poland's Catholic Church and of other churches, only one bishops' court made its files available to the State Commission for Cases of Pedophilia.

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Feb. 28.

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Feb. 28. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

"We are receiving no documents, no information from Poland's Episcopate Conference that would allow for a substantive analysis of the cases that we need to clarify," Kmieciak told a news conference.

As a result, the commission sent a letter to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asking, among other questions, how many cases of alleged abuse by the Polish clergy it reviewed in 2000-2020, how many ended with conviction and what were the punitive measures.

Commission spokeswoman Ivetta Bialy told the Associated Press the letter was sent Wednesday.

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In recent years the Vatican punished and suspended a number of Poland’s Catholic bishops and archbishops over neglect of reports of abuse of minors by the clergy in their area of responsibility.

The commission was established in 2019 to review reports and cases of abuse of minors under the age of 15, ensure punishment for the perpetrators and work out preventive and educative measures. It is reviewing the cases of 330 individuals and has also analyzed files of over 260 court cases that have led to conviction.