WARSAW

A Polish Catholic bishop has gone on trial accused of failing to promptly report allegations of child sexual abuse committed by priests under his authority, marking the first time a bishop in Poland has faced criminal proceedings over such claims.

The trial of Andrzej Jez, bishop of the southern city of Tarnow, opened at a local district court, where prosecutors accused him of breaching Polish law by not immediately informing law enforcement authorities about credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors by two priests subordinate to him.

The case concerns alleged abuse by priests identified under Polish privacy law as Stanislaw P. and Tomasz K. Prosecutors say Jez failed to notify authorities “without delay” despite having access to information indicating that serious crimes against minors may have been committed.

Proceedings against Stanislaw P. were discontinued in 2022 because the statute of limitations had expired. Investigators nonetheless concluded that the priest had harmed at least 95 children and committed sexual acts against 77 of them over several decades in parishes in Poland and Ukraine, according to findings cited by investigative outlet OKO.press.

In a separate case, prosecutors decided in 2023 to bring charges against Tomasz K., who is suspected of sexually abusing minors from at least 2018 onward. However, the charges have not yet been formally presented due to the priest’s poor health, OKO.press reported.

Material gathered during those investigations led prosecutors to charge Jez with failing to report the alleged crimes promptly. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

The charges stem from amendments introduced in 2017 to Poland’s criminal code, which made it a criminal offense to fail to “immediately notify authorities” of credible information regarding the preparation or commission of certain serious crimes, including sexual abuse of minors.

Jez has served as bishop of Tarnow since 2012, after previously acting as auxiliary bishop between 2009 and 2012. He has pleaded not guilty.

In a statement, the Diocese of Tarnow said it has for years followed a “zero tolerance” policy toward sexual abuse of minors and that the bishop “diligently performed his duties” under both church and state law.

Church officials said Jez obtained “concrete knowledge” of Stanislaw P.’s alleged crimes only in 2019, after receiving documentation related to the priest’s activities in Ukraine. The case was first reported to the Vatican and then to Polish prosecutors in 2020, the diocese added.

Although Jez was indicted in April 2024, the trial was delayed amid controversy over venue. The Tarnow district court requested the case be transferred elsewhere, arguing that some local judges had professional or social contact with the bishop, including “close personal relationships,” according to reporting by Polish news site Interia.

The trial comes amid intensifying scrutiny of the Catholic Church’s handling of historical abuse cases in Poland. Multiple investigations and documentaries in recent years have exposed abuse by clergy and alleged cover-ups by church authorities.

In 2024, the Vatican accepted the resignation of the bishop of Lowicz, Andrzej Dziuba, citing his “negligence in handling cases of sexual abuse against minors.”

Last week, a commission established by the Diocese of Sosnowiec following a series of scandals said it had identified at least 50 child victims and 29 suspected perpetrators, most of them members of the clergy.