Former Pope John Paul II Knew of Pedophilia Cases, Investigation Finds
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Pope John Paul II first set foot in Canada on September 19, 1984.< /p>
Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was aware of pedophilia cases in the Polish Church before he was elected pope as John Paul II in 1978, according to a journalistic investigation presented Sunday, testimonies in support, by the Polish private television station TVN.
While he was cardinal and bishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla was aware of cases of acts of pedophilia committed by priests in his diocese, which he transferred from a parish to the x27;other to avoid scandal, according to survey author Michal Gutowski.
One of the priests was sent by the future Pope John Paul II in Austria. Cardinal Wojtyla, in this case, wrote a letter of recommendation to the Cardinal of Vienna, Franz König, without informing him of the charges against the priest.
As part of the investigation, Mr. Gutowski met with victims of pedophile priests, their relatives, as well as former employees of the diocese.
He also cites documents from the former communist SB secret police and rare Church documents he was able to access.
The Diocese of Krakow denied him access to ;access to its archives, according to the journalist.
It has already happened that the Polish Church refuses to provide documents, even to justice or to a public commission of x27;investigation of pedophilia cases.
Wishing to remain anonymous, a witness confirmed that he personally reported to Cardinal Wojtyla the pedophile acts of a priest in 1973.
Wojtyla first wanted to #x27;sure it wasn't a bluff. He asked not to report it anywhere, he said he would take care of it, the man said, adding that the cardinal had explicitly asked him if the matter could remain covered up.
What you've discovered is groundbreaking because it shows what many people suspected for years: that John Paul II knew this problem existed even before he became pope, Thomas Doyle said in the report, former American Catholic priest, canon law scholar, and author of one of the first reports of Catholic clergy abuse in the United States.
He must have known, but he didn't x27; there was no evidence. And there we have proof, he noted.
A book containing similar accusations against Karol Wojtyla is to be published in Poland on Wednesday. The result of an investigation by Dutch journalist Ekke Overbeek, it is titled Maxima Culpa. Jean-Paul He knew.
Several cases of pedophilia within the clergy, revealed mainly by the media, shook the government. Polish Church in recent years. Several senior Polish officials have been sanctioned by the Vatican.
