A Polish Catholic bishop became the first senior church leader in the country to stand trial Wednesday for allegedly delaying reports of child sexual abuse by priests under his authority, a landmark prosecution underscoring how pedophilia scandals have eroded the Catholic Church’s moral authority in one of Europe’s most devoutly religious nations.
Bishop Andrzej Jeż pleaded not guilty at Tarnow District Court in southern Poland to charges he failed to promptly inform police about sexual abuse of victims under age 15 by two priests in his diocese, state news agency PAP reported. If convicted, the 62-year-old bishop, who has led the Tarnow diocese since 2012, faces up to three years in prison under a 2017 law requiring immediate notification of authorities upon receiving credible information about sexual crimes against minors.
Lilianna Kupaj, who said she was sexually abused by another priest in the Tarnow diocese when she was eight years old, tearfully told journalists outside the courthouse that the trial represented “the first act of justice I’ve experienced.” Her presence alongside other survivors reflected growing demands for accountability from church hierarchs who failed to protect children or covered up abuse to preserve institutional reputation. Jeż rejected accusations against him, saying he informed police in both cases involving priests identified in court documents as Stanisław P. and Tomasz K., whose full names cannot be disclosed under Polish privacy laws. “I regret and apologise to all those harmed and others who have suffered because of this,” PAP quoted Jeż as telling the court. “Paedophilia in general, and especially in the church, is reprehensible and must be combated with all determination.”
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According to prosecutors, Stanisław P. allegedly abused 95 children and committed sexual crimes against 77 victims across multiple parishes dating to the 1980s, one of the largest abuse cases reported in Poland’s Catholic Church. Neither priest was criminally charged: prosecutors discontinued proceedings against Stanisław P. in 2022 due to statute of limitations after victims could not precisely determine when abuse occurred, while charges against Tomasz K. were dropped after he claimed poor health. The Vatican ultimately stripped Stanisław P. of his priesthood.
Prosecutors argued that although the diocese conducted internal investigations and eventually reported the priests to authorities, Polish law requires immediate notification upon receiving credible abuse information, not after internal church reviews conclude.
Investigators say church probes into Stanisław P. began in the 2000s and the decision to remove him from clergy was made in 2013, but Bishop Jeż only notified the prosecutor’s office in 2020—a seven-year delay prosecutors characterize as criminal negligence.
The Tarnow diocese rejected accusations Tuesday, insisting in a statement that “the authorities of the Tarnow diocese made a dozen or so reports to law enforcement over the past years, implementing a ‘zero tolerance’ policy.” Defense lawyer Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski declined to comment before the trial.
The case marks an unprecedented criminal prosecution of a Polish bishop over abuse cover-up allegations. In previous instances, prosecutors declined opening investigations into church officials, arguing the criminal code lacked provisions explicitly requiring clergy to notify law enforcement. The 2017 legal amendment closed that loophole by making failure to “immediately notify the authorities” of “credible information” about crimes including sexual abuse of minors punishable by prison.
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Catholic Church authority in Poland has deteriorated sharply as abuse revelations multiplied and cover-ups were exposed. In 2024, Bishop Andrzej Dziuba of Łowicz and Archbishop Andrzej Dziȩga of Szczecin-Kamień resigned over negligence in handling sexual abuse cases—the Vatican announced Dziuba’s resignation was due to his “negligence in handling cases of sexual abuse against minors.”
Trust in the church has plummeted. An IBRiS poll in 2025 showed only 35 percent of Poles say they trust the Catholic Church, down from 58 percent in 2016. Weekly mass attendance fell to 34 percent in 2025 from nearly 70 percent in the early 1990s, according to Poland’s Centre for Public Opinion Research.