Pope dismisses Polish bishop after abuse scandal
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Pope Francis has dismissed the Bishop of Łowicz, Andrzej Dziuba, for failing to investigate allegations of abuse of minors by members of Poland's Catholic clergy.
The pontiff accepted an offer of resignation from the 74-year-old, the Vatican announced in Rome on Saturday.
According to a statement from the papal nunciature in Poland, "difficulties in the administration of the diocese and, in particular, negligence in the handling of cases of sexual abuse committed by some clergy against minors" had been identified.
The diocese of Łowicz belongs to the archdiocese of Łódź in central Poland.
According to Polish media reports, Dziuba transferred a priest in his diocese from one parish to another, even though he knew about the allegations from victims' statements. The priest has since been sentenced to three years in prison.
The Catholic Church in the homeland of Francis' John Paul II, who was pope from 1978 until his death in 2005, has for years been rocked by allegations of child abuse.
The Polish Pope - whose real name was Karol Wojtyła - appointed Dziuba as a bishop two decades ago. Since then, several bishops in Poland have resigned prematurely.
In many other countries children and young people were also sexually abused by Catholic clergymen. However, many cases were found to have been covered up by elements in the Church, which has more than 1.4 billion worshippers worldwide.
