Polish churchmen discuss protecting children from sex abuse

Charles Scicluna, a Maltese archbishop who has been described by the media as the Vatican’s top sexual-crimes investigator, was expected to attend the gathering of bishops in Wałbrzych, southwestern Poland, to share his experience in tackling abuse cases.

The meeting of the Polish Episcopal Conference, the central authority of the Catholic Church in Poland, follows a spate of child sex abuse allegations against priests, a scandal that triggered a wave of soul searching in a deeply religious country.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last month announced that Poland would hold a wide-ranging public inquiry into cases of paedophilia.

Polish lawmakers in May voted through tougher penalties for child sex abuse, including longer prison terms for paedophiles.

Meanwhile, senior churchmen have offered apologies after a recent documentary caused shock in Poland by highlighting cases of people who said they were molested by priests in childhood.

Some conservatives have accused critics of using allegations of sex abuse by clerics to attack the Catholic Church.

(pk/gs)