The book ‘Maximum guilt. John Paul II knew it’, written by journalist Ekke OverbeekA journalistic investigation by the TVN television channel, which will air in Poland on March 8, reveals that World War II, who died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014. and covering them.
Michal Gutowski, the journalist who led the television investigation, said that Wojtyla’s “While still a cardinal in Krakow, he knew and covered up cases of pedophile priests within the Church.According to investigations, Wojtyla used to transfer priests to other dioceses, even from other countries such as Austria, to ensure that there were no scandals.
As Wojtyla, who has been Pope for 27 years, explains, From 1978 until his death in 2005According to Gutowski, who during the investigation collected testimonies from victims of pedophilia priests, their families, and former diocese employees, he wrote a letter of recommendation to the Cardinal of Vienna, Franz Koenig, without mentioning the charges for a priest accused of abuse. Krakow.
In this sense, he cited communist-era documents from the former secret police and the rare religious documents he had access to, to support his investigation. However, he claimed The Krakow diocese has denied access to its own documentary archives.
The publication of the investigation in traditionally Catholic Poland came shortly after the statement by Dutch journalist Ekke Overbeek, who lives in Poland. similar accusations
‘the bookMaximum guilt. John Paul II knew‘ will go on sale in Poland this week.
In the past two years and amid several reports of child abuse in the Polish church, the Vatican has sanctioned several senior church officials for covering up the pedophilia of clergy. But the person who served as St. John Paul II’s private secretary for 40 years, Cardinal Stanislaw DziwiszHe was cleared of charges of malpractice in the management of sexual abuse by the Vatican in a report released in April 2022. The Vatican has determined that Dziwisz acted correctly in cases of sexual abuse attributed to episcopal priests during his tenure. Ministry there from 2005 to 2016. The sentence, made public in a brief statement from the apostolic church in Poland, came after a review of documents compiled by the Cardinal of Bologna in June last year. Angelo Bagnasco.
“Analysis of collected documents It made possible the correct assessment of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz’s actions and therefore the Apostolic Seat decided not to proceed*, the priesthood in Poland said in a proclamation that the case was closed.