Deutsche Welle, 9 October 2013
Poland’s
Catholic Church has apologized to victims of child sexual abuse by priests,
vowing a "zero tolerance" stance. The move comes a day after
controversial comments made by the church’s Archbishop.
"We
ask forgiveness for our priests who have harmed children," Bishop Wojciech
Polak, secretary general of the Polish Episcopate told reporters, adding the
church would have a "zero tolerance" approach to pedophilia.
The meeting
had come after the emergence of two cases of child abuse by priests, with two
Polish priests based in the Dominican Republic among the accused. One of those
priests was a Vatican envoy. Some 27 priests have been convicted in Poland of
abusing children.
Backlash on
controversial comments
The church
had backtracked from comments made on Tuesday by Archbishop Jozef Michalik to
Polish broadcaster TVN24. The comments were interpreted by many as an attempt
to shift blame from the doorstep of the Catholic Church.
"And
one has to say ... how many wounds are inflicted when parents divorce? We often
hear that this inappropriate attitude (pedophilia), or abuse, manifests itself
when a child is seeking love," Michalik said Tuesday. "(The child)
clings, it searches. It gets lost itself and then draws another person into
this."
'Slip of
the tongue'
A spokesman
for the episcopate said the comments had been a "pure slip of the
tongue," while Michalik later said the context of his comment "was as
follows: a child is always innocent. But it can be hurt not only by priests but
also by its own environment."
Despite the
hard line approach and guidelines, Polish church leaders have stopped short at
offering any monetary compensation for victims.
ph/mz (AP, AFP)
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