Addressing a press conference in Warsaw, Father Wojciech Sadłoń, the director of the Institute of Church Statistics, said that the Church between July 1, 2018 and the end of 2020 received 368 reports regarding the sexual abuse of minors.
The reports concern 292 priests and monks, with some of them accused of abusing several people.
A total of 144 reports have been verified and are considered reliable, 186 are under investigation and 38 had been rejected as unreliable, according to Church officials.
Father Adam Żak, a Jesuit who acts as coordinator for the protection of children and young people at the Polish Bishops’ Conference, said the report reflects a continuing wave of allegations. “This is not a downward trend,” he added.
Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the Primate of Poland – a senior Church post, reiterated previous pleas for forgiveness, saying: “I would like to address all those who have been wronged and scandalised by the evil in the church.”
There are 33,600 Catholic priests in Poland, 1,200 monks and about 19,000 nuns.
(mk/pk)