[Google translation followed by the original Dutch article]

John Paul II knew about child abuse in his diocese long before he became pope in 1978. This is evident from research by Trouw .

The later pope John Paul II, as archbishop of the Polish city of Krakow, knew of several cases of child abuse committed by priests. In 1971 he let a underpriest continue to work after he had abused a boy. Even when this man was convicted of abuse by a court in 1973, the future pope allowed him to continue working as a priest. In another diocese, the man again assaulted boys.

This has emerged from new years of research by Trouw in the archives of the Polish security service. Material from these archives has a controversial status in Poland because of the methods used by the security services under the communist regime. Because it also contains court documents and old testimonies of victims, new evidence can still…