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Pope Francis accepts resignation of Polish archbishop accused of ignoring abuse

Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga of Szczecin-Kamien, Poland. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Rome Newsroom, Feb 26, 2024 / 00:01 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Polish Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga, who has faced allegations that he ignored abuse cases in Poland.

Neither the Apostolic Nunciature of Poland, which announced the resignation on Feb. 24, nor the Holy See Press Office provided a reason for Dzięga’s resignation. The 71-year-old prelate, who has led the Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamien since 2009, will not turn 75, the age at which canon law requires a bishop to submit his resignation to the pope, until 2027.

Dzięga published a two-page resignation letter on Feb. 24 in which he apologized to his “brother priests,” saying, “if my weaknesses, including incomplete understanding of specific circumstances, and sometimes even my ordinary human fatigue became the cause of your anxiety, I am sorry.”

The archbishop said he was resigning due to “a radical weakening of my condition,” adding that in the fall “it became obvious to me” that it was time to step down, and that the Holy Father agreed.

Bishop Zbigniew Zielinski, 59, who became bishop of the Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg in February 2023, has been appointed apostolic administrator of the Szczecin-Kamien Archdiocese, located in the northwest corner of the country, the nunciature announced.

According to a 2021 report by the Polish Catholic outlet Więź, the nunciature received four reports, from three separate individuals, alleging that Dzięga covered up cases of sexual abuse. The report noted that the complaints were submitted following the publication of Pope Francis’ 2019 motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which established a new norms for handling sexual abuse cases.

In 2021 the Polish television network TVN24 aired a documentary alleging that Dziega knew about abuse allegations against Father Andrzej Dymer as early as 1995 but took no action. According to Polish media, Dymer was convicted by a Church tribunal in 2008 of sexually abusing minors. Dymer appealed but died in 2021 before the appeal was adjudicated.


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7 Comments

  1. If Bergoglio accepted the Polish archbishop’s resignation for ignoring abuse, why doesn’t he have the honesty and decency to submit his own since he has repeatedly done the same thing? Utter hypocrisy.

  2. When will Pope Francis accept his own resignation for his ignoring of Zanchetta, Barros, Rupnik and about ten other abusers? Apparently if you are Pope Francis fan, you get promoted rather than punished.

  3. Francis is inconsistent in his application of justice. If he accepts the resignation of this Polish bishop because of his negligence over abuse by those under his jurisdiction, why shouldn’t Francis also resign since he has a well-documented abuser – Rupnik – operating as a priest in his own diocese (Rome). Many of us no longer have any confidence in this papacy to do the right thing.

  4. Supposedly a very orthodox/conservative bishop, popular and much liked by his people; the case of the abusive priest is somewhat convoluted, and conveniently put as a possible motive for the archbishop resignation

  5. When will the Bergoglio tender his own resignation for refusing to stop the abuse of which he was fully aware in Buenos Aires?

    The No longer Deaf nor Dumb victims of Bergoglioism are less worthy than Polish boys of public compunction??

3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

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