Polish court sentences priest for child sexual abuse
A Polish court has sentenced a Roman Catholic priest to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of sexually abusing underage boys.
The court in the western Polish city of Wroclaw also ordered the 44-year-old priest, identified only as Pawel K., to undergo psychological treatment and prohibited him from working with young people for the rest of his life.
The judge, Maciej Skorniak, described the priest as a “seductive, provocative and dangerous type” during court proceedings.
Pawel K. was arrested in a hotel in Wroclaw in December 2012 when he was checking in with a teenage boy, arousing suspicion among the hotel workers.
The priest, however, did not admit to any wrongdoing.
The archdiocese of Wroclaw (pictured above) also plans to prosecute Pawel K. in a church court, saying he would no longer be allowed to exercise priestly functions.
“Once again we express our deep regret over the acts committed by the cleric. It’s hard to find the right words to express our pain and compassion to the victims,” added church spokesman, Rafal Kowalski.
In 2010, Pawel K. received a one-year suspended sentence for possessing child pornography. He was living in a home for retired clerics.
The Roman Catholic Church has been hit by numerous scandals in the US and Europe in the past few years, involving allegations of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests to protect pedophiles and its own reputation.
More than 4,000 US priests have faced sexual abuse allegations since the 1950s, in cases involving more than 10,000 children. All the other allegations were made by adults who said they were abused as minors.
Some theologians have argued that the church's policy on celibacy fosters sexual dysfunction and abusive behavior among priests.
GMA/MKA
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