Bishop of Tarnów convicted of failing to promptly report child abuse
Andrzej Jeż is the first Polish bishop convicted of failing to promptly notify prosecutors of child sexual abuse by priests. The court ordered a restriction of liberty with a requirement to make payments to victims.
First conviction of a Polish bishop
Bishop Andrzej Jeż from the Tarnów diocese has been convicted of failing to promptly notify authorities of child sexual abuse by two priests under his jurisdiction. This is the first such conviction in Poland against a bishop for this offence. According to Notes From Poland, the court issued its verdict on Thursday, which does not include imprisonment but rather an order restricting liberty.
The sentence requires Jeż to transfer 25 per cent of his salary over two years to the Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę Foundation, an organisation supporting victims of sexual violence. Additionally, the court ordered a payment of 20,000 złoty to the Fund for the Assistance of Crime Victims and Post-Penitentiary Assistance.
Delayed reports concerning two priests
The case concerns two priests who worked under the bishop's authority. They are known only as Stanisław P. and Tomasz K., in accordance with Polish data protection regulations. The prosecutor's office established that Stanisław P. abused at least 95 children and committed sexual acts against 77 of them over many decades in parishes throughout Poland and Ukraine.
Jeż notified the prosecutor's office about Stanisław P. only in 2020, despite an internal Church investigation having begun in 2000 and a decision to remove him from the priesthood having been made in 2013. In the case of Tomasz K., who was accused of abuse from 2018 onwards, the notification came in 2021.
Charges under the 2017 Act
Although Jeż was not charged with complicity in the abuse, he was prosecuted under a 2017 Act which made it a criminal offence to fail to promptly notify law enforcement authorities of credible information about child sexual abuse. This offence carries a sentence of up to three years' imprisonment.
The prosecutor's office requested a sentence of ten months' imprisonment suspended for three years and a fine of 20,000 złoty. Jeż denied the charges against him and requested acquittal, arguing that he had notified the authorities immediately upon receiving credible information.
Prosecutor Marcin Stępień argued that Jeż's delayed notification allowed the statute of limitations to expire on cases involving some of Stanisław P.'s victims. He added that the bishop decided to disclose the information only after the matter received media attention.
Statement from the diocese and broader context
The Tarnów diocese issued a statement expressing disagreement with the verdict and announcing its intention to appeal once it had reviewed the written judgment. The verdict is not final.
The Catholic Church in Poland has in recent years been rocked by revelations regarding child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and accusations of cover-ups by bishops. The Vatican has taken action against several Polish bishops for this reason. In 2024 the Vatican announced the resignation of the Bishop of Łowicz Andrzej Dziuba due to his "negligence in handling cases of sexual abuse of minors".
A commission appointed by the Sosnowiec diocese following a series of scandals reported in February that it had identified at least 50 children who were victims and 29 suspected perpetrators of abuse, the majority of whom are members of the clergy.
Source: Notes From Poland