Message from the Head of the Office of the PBC's Delegate for the Protection of Children and Youth
On Friday, August 13th, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the Polish Episcopal Delegate for the Protection of Children and Young People, transmitted to the State Commission for Pedophilia the results of the analysis of the statistical data gathered in the context of the two searches conducted, as well as the report forms which were used to gather this data.
The reports submitted were prepared at the request of the Polish Bishops' Conference by The Witold Zdaniewicz Institute for Catholic Church Statistics SAC (ISKK), which has been conducting empirical research on Catholicism in Poland for 50 years. This Institute created the methodology and the research tool, then conducted the survey, compiled the database, and performed its preliminary and in-depth analysis. The public was informed about the results of the Institute's research in March 2019 and again in January and June of this year.
The PBC's delegate also said that this Institute, as a parameterized scientific unit and an independent research center, is open to cooperation with the State Commission on Pedophilia under the rules governing scientific research, including respect for copyright law.
The PBC's Delegate for the Protection of Children and Young People also recalled that, regarding the requests of the State Commission on Pedophilia for the transfer of the files of the Church's judicial and administrative proceedings, in connection with the repeatedly reported legal doubts, the Polish Bishops' Conference is engaged in consultations with the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, to which the relevant questions were sent. The answer from the Holy See will determine the direction of further actions of the Polish bishops in this matter.
Fr. Piotr Studnicki
Head of the Office of the PBC's Delegate for the Protection of Children and Youth
(translation: s. P. Nau / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops' Conference)
