“We meet today in order to share our experiences and also to support the protection of children and initiate necessary cooperation,” said Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, the President of the Polish Bishops Conference, at the opening of the international conference of the Churches of Central and Eastern Europe on the protection of minors, which is being held in Warsaw on 19-22 September this year.
The Episcopate’s President emphasized that the Polish Episcopate has been working for years in the field of the protection of minors. He noted that the pioneer of this activity is the Coordinator of the Polish Catholic Bishops Conference for the Protection of Children and Young People, appointed to this position by the PCBC in 2013. A year later, the Child Protection Center was founded.
Archbishop Gądecki noted that in each diocese and religious congregation, pastoral ministers of the victims have been appointed, “to provide spiritual care to those who desire it, so that the Church wounded by crime can become a place of healing. Of course, we also offer psychological help to the victims, but we recognize that this tragedy also has a spiritual dimension.”
The President of the Episcopate recalled that at the national level, in 2019, Archbishop Wojciech Polak was appointed PCBC delegate for the protection of children and young people, and his office was established at the PCBC secretariat. He also said that the Polish bishops had also decided to establish the PCBC's Saint Joseph Foundation, which for the past two years has been allocating funds for prevention and education activities as well as assistance to the victims.
“I’m mentioning these people and institutions to show the enormity of the efforts of the Church in Poland, and also to thank those who have done much good in this area over the years,” Archbishop Gądecki said. “We take to heart the call of the Holy Father Francis not to care primarily about the image of the institution, about the «external side of the chalice and bowl», but above all about the good of the victims,” he added.
The Episcopate’s President assessed that in order to effectively protect children and help the victims, it is necessary to admit that our resources are too weak. “It must be honestly acknowledged that we have committed many negligent acts toward the victims in the Church. This kind of facing of the truth, however, should not lead us to defeatism or despair, but to a pastoral conversion - of which Pope Francis speaks - that makes the safeguarding of the child or the disabled and helping the victims a priority not only for a select few, but also for each one of us,” he concluded.
Polish Catholic Bishops Conference Press Office
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Message from Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, President of the Polish Catholic Bishops Conference at the opening of the international conference of the Churches of Central and Eastern Europe "Our Common Mission of Safeguarding God’s Children" in Warsaw (19.09.2021)
In the parallel passage of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Jesus' words read: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4). Children who are trusting and humble provide a model of simplicity for all of Jesus' disciples, but Jesus also warns: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:6-7). Our Lord uses very harsh words against the perpetrators of evil who harm children, but also against those who might take such harm lightly: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” (Matthew 18:10-11). We gather here to be healed of indifference, much less of disregard for the harm to children.
We also recognize that clergy accused of sexual abuse – also when convicted - fall into a loneliness that creates a frustration that is dangerous to the accused or convicted priest as well as to his potential victims. That is why we have created the role of the guardian of accused or convicted clergy to supervise these individuals, to require them to comply with all restrictions imposed, and to support them in moments of depression or despair.
In order to focus not only on intervention but also on prevention, a team responsible for the accused person has been established in each diocese, made up of people with different tasks. In addition to the guidelines of the Polish Catholic Bishops Conference, most dioceses and religious congregations have adopted norms of good practices and principles of prevention.
Finally, at the national level, we have noticed the need for a bishop who will be a sign of the Church’s concern for the victims. Therefore, in 2019, Archbishop Wojciech Polak was appointed the PCBC delegate for the protection of children and young people, and his office was created at the PCBC secretariat.
The Polish bishops have also decided to establish the Saint Joseph Foundation of the PCBS, which for two years now has been allocating large financial resources for prevention and education, but also for helping the victims where for some reason dioceses or religious congregations are unable to do so.
In addition, lay people have founded the “Wounded in the Church” initiative, which operates a hotline for people who have been wronged, as well as a team of therapists, lawyers, and people of goodwill who are willing to support people who have been wronged.
I mention these people and institutions to show the enormity of the effort made by the Church in Poland, and also to thank those who have done much good in this area over the years. We take to heart the call of the Holy Father Francis not to care first of all about the image of the institution, about the “external side of the cup and bowl,” but first of all about the good of the victims.
(Translated from Polish by K. Łazarz-Górska / Office for Foreign Communications of the Polish Bishops' Conference)