Polish Archbishop Resigns
A high-ranking Roman Catholic Church official in Pope John Paul II's homeland announced his resignation Thursday following a Vatican investigation and newspaper allegations that he made homosexual advances on young clerics.
The resignation was accepted by the Vatican. Paetz once worked with the Pope at the Vatican.
The 67-year-old Archbishop of Poznan, Juliusz Paetz, has steadfastly dismissed the accusations in the biggest scandal that has shaken the church in this predominantly Catholic nation, and again insisted Thursday that he was innocent.
"The Poznan church needs unity and peace," he said at the end of a Mass in Poznan Cathedral, an annual liturgy for priests during which they renew their oaths of priesthood.
"Bearing in mind the good of the beloved Poznan church, I submitted a request to the Holy father to relieve me of my duties and the Holy Father accepted my request," Paetz said.
Paetz said he had fallen victim to misinterpretation of his "kindness and spontaneity."
Poland's Roman Catholic Church said in late February that the Vatican was looking into the allegations in the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, which cited unidentified priests as saying that the archbishop had been accused by numerous priests and clerics of sexual harassment.
Paetz was accused by fellow priests of paying night visits to the lodgings of seminarians, cuddling up to young clerics in public and using an underground tunnel to pay unannounced visits to his targets.
On March 17, the archbishop ordered that a letter be read out in churches in the archdiocese denying the allegations, and complained that "mass media have already judged me and sentenced me."
Paetz is the highest-ranking prelate to be brought down in a spate of resignations connected to sexual misconduct, and the highest since Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer was forced to give up all his duties in 1998 following allegations he molested young boys.
His announcement was met by silence in the cathedral, but applause broke out as another bishop read out a letter from the papal nuncio in Poland, Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, thanking Paetz for his service.
The Vatican named as his successor Monsignor Stanislaw Gadecki, 52, an auxiliary bishop in the town of Gniezno.
Paetz's resignation comes after John Paul broke his silence on sex abuse cases rocking the Roman Catholic Church, saying the "grave scandal" was casting a "dark shadow of suspicion" over all priests.
In an annual pre-Easter message to priests worldwide, the pope said "as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of ordination."
Paetz worked at the Vatican from 1967 to 1976 in the Bishops Synod Secretariat. He was nominated bishop in 1982 and archbishop in 1996 by the pope.
The harassment allegations come at an embarrassing time for the Polish church, with the pontiff due to visit Poland in August — his first trip back to his homeland since 1999.
On Thursday, Paetz called the allegations against him "insinuations damaging my good name," which were supposed to cause "chaos" in Poznan diocese.
He insisted that during a visit to the Vatican in early February, he heard no "accusations or substantial charges." He said he was not questioned about the case and "no verdict was issued by any competent church authority."
The papal nuncio wrote to Paetz that "you love the Poznan church and this is how we assess your difficult decision."
"You did not want your person to be an obstacle in the life of this church," Archbishop Kowalczyk said. "I thank you for everything."