Officials representing Pope Francis in Poland announced on Saturday that the Pope had approved the resignation of an archbishop who was implicated in a documentary for overlooking child abuse allegations.
A documentary aired on TVN24 in 2021 alleged that the late priest Andrzej Dymer had committed abuse against children and that the Archbishop of the Szczecin-Kamien diocese, Andrzej Dziega, had been aware of the accusations since 1995 but failed to take any action.
“Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Andrzej Dziega from his position as Archbishop Metropolitan of Szczecin-Kamien,” stated Poland’s apostolic nunciature, which functions as the Vatican’s embassy.
A notice on the Szczecin-Kamien archdiocese’s website also confirmed Dziega’s retirement from his role.
Neither statement explicitly addressed the allegations against Dziega, who had been serving as Archbishop Metropolitan of Szczecin-Kamien since 2009.
The archdiocese did not immediately respond to requests for comments, and attempts to reach Dziega for a response were unsuccessful.
TVN24 reported that following the documentary’s airing, Dziega had removed Dymer from his position as the director of a medical institute in Szczecin, located in northwest Poland.
Reports from Polish media indicated that in 2008, Dymer was found guilty by a church tribunal of sexually abusing minors. Dymer had filed an appeal, which was pending at the time of his passing.
As one of Europe’s most staunchly Catholic nations, Poland has had a series of child abuse scandals. The church disclosed two years prior that between July 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020, they had received 368 reports of minor abuse.
According to census data from 2021, 71% of the population in Poland identifies as Catholic.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
