The Vatican is disciplining the Polish archbishop after a covert investigation into abuses

WARSAW, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The Vatican has sanctioned the former archbishop of Wroclaw in Poland following a negligent investigation into allegations of sexual abuse, banning him from participating in public ceremonies, both religious and secular .

The move against retired Archbishop Marian Golebiewski was announced on Saturday by the Archdiocese of Wroclaw in western Poland. He said the Vatican had conducted an investigation into its failure to give sufficient credibility to allegations of sexual abuse from 1996 to 2013.

As a result, the 83-year-old was ordered to “live in a spirit of penance and prayer.” He was banned from participating in any public ceremony and was ordered to pay an “appropriate sum” to a fund that would help victims of abuse, according to the statement, without detailing it.

It was the latest case of alleged sexual abuse or cover-up in predominantly Catholic Poland. In March, the Vatican sanctioned the former archbishop of Gdansk, banishing him from the territory of the archdiocese.

The films of brothers Tomasz and Marek Sekielski that aim to show bishops who disguised sexual abuse by changing priests between parishes in Poland have had more than 23 million views on YouTube.

The Golebiewski case comes when Pope Francis has tried to deal with a widespread crisis of sexual abuse that has tarnished the image of the Church around the world.

Reported by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Joanna Plucinska; Edited by Giles Elgood

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