So far, the arguments of the episcopate and the defenders of the Catholic Church have penetrated the public opinion that Wojtyła was supposedly unaware of the scale of the crimes and that knowledge about it began to flow to him only before his death, when he was already seriously ill. The reporter of “Black on White” TVN24, however, presented his latest findings, which show something completely different. Gutowski reached archival documents and talked to victims and witnesses of crimes that shed new light on the activities of John Paul II in the field of covering up pedophilia among priests.
According to the journalist’s findings, Karol Wojtyła was supposed to cover up the cases of at least two priests subordinate to him, and he treated the third accused of sexual abuse extremely gently when he left prison. It was long before he was elected head of the Church – when he was still the Bishop of Krakow in the years 1964-1978.
The three priests who sexually abused children in the Archdiocese of Krakow are: Father Bolesław Saduś, Father Eugeniusz Surgent and Father Józef Loranc.
“He corrupted many young boys”
Father Saduś was a curial officer and a clerk for religion in the Archdiocese of Krakow. He and Karol Wojtyła remained in close relations, probably even friendly. Marcin Gutowski revealed that Fr. Saduś was a collaborator of the Security Service. According to the SB files from 1972, the priest allegedly sexually molested underage boys at that time.
Fr. Saduś received an oral notice from Cardinal Karol Wojtyła from the function of pastor of the parish of St. Florian. There is a fear in the curia that it is impossible to hide the scandal that Fr. Saduś caused his behavior. It turned out that he had corrupted many young boys whom he used for sexual matters. Recently, for example, Fr. Saduś is stopped on the streets of Krakow by the boys’ mothers who rail against him and threaten to take advantage of his abnormal actions
– it was written in the files cited in the report. Marcin Gutowski also reached out to a nearly 100-year-old former employee of the Krakow curia. He confirmed that the late Fr. Saduś had “sexual deviations” regarding underage boys.
As it turned out, the then bishop of Krakow did not punish Saduś in any way. Gutowski quotes the files and the content of the correspondence between Karol Wojtyła and the Bishop of Vienna, which show that – in the face of growing rumors – Wojtyła arranged for the priest accused of molesting a job in Austria. In the letter, however, he did not reveal the real reason for the transfer. Officially, it was a “scientific leave”. So Saduś fled to the parish in Gaubitsch, where he served as pastor for 15 years.
According to the author of the report, Wojtyła and Saduś had frequent contact until Saduś’s death in 1990.
John Paul covered up pedophilia? “He asked if I was able to hush it up”
In turn, in 1973, a man appeared in the curia in Krakow who accused Father Eugeniusz Surgent of molestation. In an interview with Gutowski, the man mentioned that Karol Wojtyła was also present at the meeting with representatives of the curia. The future pope was to ask him not to publicize the matter.
He asked if I was able to hush it up
– said the journalist’s interlocutor.
Surgent allegedly molested boys for several years, and the aforementioned report concerned the events in Kiczorze, a mountain settlement in Beskid Żywiecki. The reporter reached people who remember the crimes he committed 50 years ago. Those who appeared in front of the camera spoke about the priest, among others: “s*** son”. However, it turned out that the priest also committed abuse in previous parishes, which he often changed. Despite this, the Cracow bishop did not remove the clergyman from his post and continued to allow him to exercise his pastoral ministry, without any supervision over him.
Surgent was eventually arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. A few years after leaving, he began teaching religion in in the diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, where he abused children for several decades. He died in 2008.
“He had lustful relations with a dozen students from all classes”
Father Józef Loranc, on the other hand, sexually molested girls from classes IV in Mutne. The priest taught religion at the local school.
He ordered curtains to be put on in the chapel so as not to be seen by other people. He had lustful relations with a dozen students from all classes, who were distinguished by their beauty and cleanliness
– was written in the SB files quoted by the journalist.
The initial reaction of Karol Wojtyła was decisive and the future pope suspended the priest, sending him to a monastery. The man was eventually arrested and sentenced to one year in prison. When he left, Wojtyła wrote him a letter in which he mentioned that he would no longer be punished by the church authorities because the secular authorities had done so. At first he sent him back to the monastery, but gradually Loranc returned to his pastoral ministry. He became a hospital chaplain. The facility had a children’s ward.
Source: TVN24
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
