Warsaw, Poland, Sep 17, 2021 / 05:35 am
A Polish Catholic archbishop expressed “deep pain and sadness” this week following the publication of a report concluding that the Dominican Order failed to support victims of a charismatic priest.
In a Sept. 15 statement, Archbishop Wojciech Polak thanked the victims for coming forward and contributing to the 261-page report on the actions of the priest, identified only as Paweł M.
The report, released on Wednesday, found that the priest, regarded by young people as a “charismatic guru,” created sect-like groups while engaging in physical and sexual abuse.
Polak, the Primate of Poland and the Polish bishops’ conference delegate for the protection of children and youth, said: “First of all, I would like to express my closeness, sympathy, and support to the wounded people who, although they were adults, were defenseless against psychological manipulation based on pseudo-theology, as well as against physical violence and sexual abuse on the part of the friar.”