Debate about abuse by priests in Poland
A Polish documentary shows victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy confronting their abusers with their crimes. The two-hour video with the title "Don't tell anyone" was financed by crowd funding and was viewed millions of times within just two days. Europe's commentators discuss the consequences of the film.
Election campaign exposing the rifts
The website 444 considers the film in the context of the Polish European election campaign, in which religion, the Church and sexuality are playing a key role:
“For the liberals, the Church in Poland is too close to power and has a say in too many issues, while for the conservatives the Catholic Church is a key part of their identity that must be protected at any cost. One of the main election promises of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) is the protection of precisely those 'traditional values'. According to Reuters news agency, Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the PiS, tapped into the tensions provoked by the film's release, speaking out on Sunday to say that punishment for pedophilia should be more severe.”
A cry for truth
Poland's Church has a duty to fulfil, states Rzeczpospolita:
“The documentary is not anti-clergy. It is a cry for the truth and for there to be consequences - even if many years have passed - not just for the paedophiles, but also for the Church and the offenders' superiors, who failed to respond. The victims of pedophile priests deserve the truth, they deserve the remorse and repentance of the perpetrators, and they deserve amends. It is they who are wounded, not the priests... The Church needs to get its wheels turning faster than usual. Further crises could mean that while people may still believe in God, they identify less and less with the institution of the Church.”
The Church is a victim of the left
These cases are being exaggerated by the left out of sheer hatred of the Church, complains wPolityce:
“Of course this is not just about the actual guilt of the Church or the sins of the priests. Because the institution of the Church is so stigmatised today and stands so directly in the firing line that it is punished sevenfold for all of its weaknesses. .. The Church provokes, annoys, causes resentment and hatred simply because of the values that it teaches and proclaims. Which is why the left declared war on it all those years ago. As long as the Church exists and preaches its creed, human beings have the choice: either they seek the truth in Jesus or they choose illusion. A growing number of Europeans are opting for the latter. But in Poland we still know that we can take another path. We still have an alternative. And that is why the left hates the Church in Poland so much.”