Head of the Polish Episcopate Archbishop Jozef Michalik (R) with Episcopate spokesman Father Jozef Kloch. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Jakubowski
Archbishop Jozef Michalik has insisted that Tueday's comments were a momentary “slip of the tongue,” adding that the Church has “zero tolerance for paedophilia.”
The archbishop of Przemysl made the controversial remarks after being asked about the problem of paedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church.
“Many of these instances of abuse could have been avoided if the relations between parents had been healthy,” the archbishop said.
“We often hear that this wrong behaviour, or abuse, occurs when the child is searching for love,” he added.
The archbishop suggested that children from broken homes can “cling on” to priests, hence creating the problems.
However, later on Tuesday, Archbishop Michalik said that he had been caught off guard, and had made the comments while on his way to attend a session of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate.
“The child is innocent and should not be abused,” he said, adding that the abuse “is not caused by the child.”
New evidence
The archbishop's gaffe comes as police in the Dominican Republic searched the residence of a Polish priest suspected of paedophilia for a second time.
Prosecutors have claimed that material found at the property in the town of Juncalito provides fresh evidence against Father Wojciech Gil, who has been placed on INTERPOL's wanted list.
Three more children have also been interviewed in the investigation.
The Polish ambassador in Colombia is due to meet Dominican authorities on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
Father Wojciech Gil is currently residing with his parents near Krakow, southern Poland.
During an interview on Polish public television on Friday he denied any wrongdoing.
A second Polish clergyman, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski is also being investigated by the Dominican Republic.
The Vatican announced on Monday that a replacement has been approved for Archbishop Wesolowski, who had served as nuncio (ambassador) in the Caribbean country.
Wesolowski was recalled in August, and Monday's announcement indicates that the Vatican has found sufficient evidence in its own investigation into the matter.
However, the current whereabouts of Archbishop Wesolowski remain unknown.
The archbishop is being replaced in his Dominican post by Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, currently Vatican nuncio to the Central African Republic and Chad. (nh)
Source: IAR, TVP