Marek Fronc

Another priest molested a teenager in Poland. Bishop Jan Szkodoń of Kraków is yet another pervert that hasn’t yet seen justice.

I wrote on the loud documentary ‘Tell No One’ back in May. The film tells a too-familiar story of sexual abuse within the Church, the cover-up, and a long-lasting trauma.

The Siekielski brothers’ excellent work was on the headlines for weeks to come, but — as one could expect — it changed nothing.

The bishop from the newest chapter of the tragedy that is the Church’s existence molested Monika in the 90s and early 2000s, starting when she was 15. He’d been putting his hand between Monika’s legs, his tongue in her mouth, and undressed in her presence repeatedly. He creepily kept in touch with the family until she broke contact in 2013, which strained relations with her relatives. He’d grown close to Monika’s parents since he started abusing her, as he paved his way in as a family friend (they eventually started believing her).

Szkodoń kept his post until last week, despite the fact she reported him straight to the Vatican last May — fearing that the Krakow Archdiocese would be biased. The fact he stayed violates the institution’s own principles, settled during Polish Episcopate’s Conference on October 8, 2014. Their point 7th says, explicitly, that “until the accusations are cleared, the priest cannot be allowed to perform his functions, nor he can be moved to another diocese.”

Prosecutor’s Office had also been involved, but was forced to close the case in December 2019 — it passed the statue of limitations. Nonetheless, Joanna Grabarczyk-Leśniak, a court psychologist that worked on it, said the evidence overwhelmingly suggests Monika’s accusations are true.

He’s not the only cuckoo to make recent headlines. A vicar from Zakopane was charged yesterday, after a year-long investigation. He sent porn to children, gave them alcohol, and asked how often do they masturbate. But how many will it take for us rid of the parasite?