Polish parliament defends John Paul II amid paedophilia cover-up allegations

[Teletubby 94,703]

Poland's parliament passed a resolution on Thursday defending the name of John Paul II after a new book said the late pope knowingly covered up clerical paedophilia scandals when he was archbishop of Krakow.

In the book, author Ekke Overbeek goes back to the time when as Karol Wojtyla the future pope served as archbishop of Krakow between 1964–1978. It draws on the archives of Poland's communist secret police and conversations with sex abuse victims and witnesses. The book says John Paul not only knew about child abuse in his archdiocese but also helped to cover it up by transferring priests involved from one parish to another, including at least two who were eventually convicted of abuse of minors and served jail time.

The allegations about John Paul, the first Polish pope, aired in a documentary shown by private broadcaster, have provoked fierce debate in one of Europe's most devoutly Roman Catholic nations.

While many people have said the allegations should lead to a reassessment of John Paul's legacy, many religious conservatives condemn what they see as a left-wing plot to discredit a figure who is at the core of the nation's identity.

Politicians from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party joined the uproar and proposed a resolution defending his name, which was passed by the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, mostly by votes of PiS lawmakers.

"The Sejm ... strongly condemns the shameful media campaign, based largely on the materials of the Communist apparatus of violence, whose object is the Great Pope - Saint John Paul II, the greatest Pole in history," the resolution reads. "We will not allow the image of a man whom the whole free world recognizes as a pillar of victory over the Evil Empire to be destroyed," it added.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-book-pope-john-paul-ii-stirs-up-heated-debate-polish-politics-2023-03-09/

[sara57 2,425]

Disgusting

[HermioneT 1,737]

No words for that 

Alone the line "the greatest pope in history" shows what kind of people have written this disgusting piece of text (aside from the fact that these people obviously haven't understood one single thing about Christianity)

[The Powerpuff Girl 9,094]

Disgusting. Had a fight with my mother over this yesterday.