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On Wednesday, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki defended the late Pope John Paul II in light of recent media accusations alleging he had concealed child sex abuse in the church during his time as an archbishop.
On Monday, private broadcaster TVN24 aired ‘Franciszkanska 3,’ a report by journalist Marcin Gutowski, which investigated the cases of three priests: Boleslaw Sadus, Eugeniusz Surgent and Jozef Loranc.
The report accused Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II, of being aware of incidents of child sexual abuse perpetrated by three priests in the Diocese of Krakow. He may have even aided in concealing it.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Morawiecki tweeted about the late pope, expressing Poland’s profound gratitude.
“Today war is raging not only beyond our eastern border. Unfortunately there are groups who are trying to wage not military but civilisational war on us, in Poland. These are actions that go beyond a civilised debate and beyond a civic dispute. John Paul II’s list of merits is inexhaustible, both for the world and for Poland. Evidence that John Paul II took up the fight against wickedness, including in the church, is plentiful. There is no evidence, or very, very doubtful (evidence) that he consciously ignored such acts.”
Morawiecki tweeted.
John Paul II had been suffering for decades due to testimony from former communist-era security services, as stated by the prime minister. He also commented that these attacks were a part of a bigger issue that was trying to challenge long-standing “tradition, culture and normality.”
“I stand today in defence of our beloved pope because, like the vast majority of my compatriots, I know that as a nation we owe John Paul II a very great deal,” Morawiecki wrote. “Maybe we owe him everything.”