Page 34 - BNE_magazine_06_2019

34 I Central Europe bne June 2019
VISEGRAD BLOG: Poland shocked by film documenting Catholic clergy’s sexual abuse of children
Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw
Adocumentary film in which Pol- ish Catholic priests are forced to confront people they abused as children has shocked Poland, leading politicians to declare a crackdown on sexual abuse of children.
The pledges come amidst criticism, however, that they are just election campaigning and a smokescreen to wait out the crisis in decades’ long alliance between politicians across the board in Poland and the Catholic church.
The film, titled “Just Don’t Tell Anyone”, was nearing six million views late
on May 12, some 36 hours since its premiere on YouTube. The authors,
the renowned television journalist Tomasz Sekielski and his brother Marek Sekielski, who acted as producer, made the film independently with money
www.bne.eu
they raised via an online crowdfunding campaign.
The film also shows that abuser priests were relocated to new parishes after victims spoke up, a cover-up method that would not be possible without the involvement of the priests’ superiors – in other words, bishops and other high- ranked clergy.
The film has arrived two weeks before the election to the European Parliament on May 26, forcing reactions from most actors on the political scene.
Potentially, the documentary could
dent the election result of the main mainstream parties – the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) and Civic Platform (PO)
– for their past indolence in tackling sexual abuse of children by the Catholic
clergy and covering up those crimes by high-ranked members of the Polish Episcopate.
For now, leading politicians have been trying to outdo one another in present- ing decisive reactions to the film.
PiS’ chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced the ruling party would push for making sexual abuse of children penalised with up to 30 years in prison, much harsher than the current maxi- mum sentence of 12 years.
Critics were quick to point out Kaczynski talked in broad terms about penalisation of abuse but did not comment on the film itself.
PiS is strongly pro-Catholic – as large chunks of its core electorate are – and