Mateusz Morawiecki
Following a viral documentary which exposed damning sexual exploitations of children by Catholic priests, the Poland’s government on Tuesday expresses readiness to increase prison sentences for paedophiles from 12 to 30 years.
The country’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki who presented the proposal in the parliament asserted : “Paedophilia has been treated too lightly by our judicial system.”
The Law and Justice (PiS) government which commands a majority in the Poland chamber also proposed an increase in the age of consent from 15 to 16.
PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, regarded as Poland’s de facto powerbroker, first suggested longer prison terms for paedophiles last Sunday as the documentary attracted attention.
“Tell No One”, by independent Polish journalist Tomasz Sekielski has sent shock waves through the devout country and been viewed 12.5 million times since it was posted Saturday on YouTube.
The two-hour film includes compelling hidden camera footage of victims who are now adults confronting elderly priests about the abuse they suffered decades ago.
Several of the priests admit to the abuse and apologise for it, sometimes hinting at monetary compensation.
The film also details how priests who were accused or even convicted of child sex abuse were transferred to other parishes and able to continue their duties and work with children.
Top Polish clerics rejected Sekielski’s requests to be interviewed for the documentary.
Polish Primate Wojciech Polak apologised on Saturday “for every wound inflicted by the Church’s people” and vowed to do everything he could to help victims.
The church admitted in March that nearly 400 clergy had sexually abused children and minors over the last three decades, reflecting findings published a month earlier by a charity.
The documentary concludes that Polish-born pope and Saint John Paul II turned a blind eye to sex abuse when the Warsaw’s communist regime was working to undermine the church, then Poland’s only independent institution.
Pope Francis last week passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse to report it to superiors, which could bring many new cases to light.
-Global News
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