TARNóW (POLAND)
Notes from Poland [Kraków, Poland]
October 29, 2026
In the first ruling of its kind in Poland, a Catholic bishop has been found guilty of failing to promptly inform the law enforcement authorities about allegations of child sex abuse committed by priests under his authority.
Andrzej Jeż, the bishop of Tarnów, was handed a non-custodial sentence that will require him to donate 25% of his earnings for two years to a charity that supports victims of child sexual abuse.
However, the verdict can still be appealed, and the diocese of Tarnów has already announced that it “disagrees with the court’s ruling” and that an appeal will be filed.
See original article for more information on article.
The case relates to alleged abuse by two priests who worked under Jeż’s authority. They can be identified only as Stanisław P. and Tomasz K. under Polish privacy law.
In 2022, prosecutors discontinued an investigation into allegations against Stanisław P. because the statute of limitations had expired, despite concluding that he had harmed at least 95 children and committed “sexual acts” against 77 of them over several decades in parishes in Poland and Ukraine.
In 2023, prosecutors decided to charge Tomasz K., who allegedly sexually abused children as early as 2018. However, they have been unable to formally present the charges to him because of his poor health, news website OKO.press reported earlier this year.