Vatican bans former Polish archbishop from public services for covering up child abuse

The Vatican has banned the former archbishop of Wroclaw in Poland from taking part in any public ceremonies, following his alleged role in “covering up” child sexual abuse cases in the church.

The move against retired Archbishop Marian Golebiewski, 83, was announced on Saturday by the Archdiocese of Wroclaw in western Poland. It was the latest case of alleged sexual abuse cover-up in predominantly Catholic Poland.

During the investigation, it was found that Golebiewski failed to give sufficient credence to sex abuse allegations from 1996 to 2013, the Vatican said.

“As a result, the 83-year-old was ordered to live in the spirit of penance and prayer,” Reuters quoted the Vatican as saying.

In a statement, the Vatican said he was banned from taking part in any public ceremonies and ordered to pay a “suitable sum” to a fund that helps the victims of abuse.

The Church, which wields strong political influence in Poland, has been rocked by a series of abuse scandals in recent years.

The Vatican has sanctioned seven other Polish bishops accused of covering up abusessince last year.

Last month, the state committee on paedophilia, which was set up in 2019, revealed that about a third of the 345 child sexual abuse cases committed between 2017 and 2020 involved members of the clergy.

In its own report presented in June, the Polish church said it had received 368 allegations of abuse by clergy from July 2018 to 2020.

(With inputs from agencies)