A Polish priest admitted today that he “sexually abused” children in Paris decades ago, and 14 people have approached the ad hoc body of the Church of France to receive compensation for sexual violence committed by this man.
According to a report published today in the French newspaper Le Parisien, this priest, who was in the circle of Pope John Paul II, sexually abused students at the Polish minor seminary in Paris, which he directed from the 1960s until its closure in 1988.
The 90-year-old man admitted to sexually abusing “boys (who were) of Polish origin.”
“There were acts of indecency, yes” and the incidents lasted “three or four years,” said the priest, who now lives in the Yonne department in central France. He claimed that he had told his “bishop at the time.”
According to Le Parisien, he had already confessed his actions in 2011 to several victims who decided to confront him at an alumni conference.
Since July and the publication of an article in a Polish magazine, “14 people have contacted INIRR,” the independent national authority for recognition and compensation, its president Marie Derain de Vaucresson told the French news agency.
These are 13 men, alleged victims at the seminary, and one woman, who were minors at the time of the events and who now “all live in Poland,” with only one speaking French, she added.
“The question for us is whether this seminary and the priests who were there as part of the Polish mission in Paris fall under the responsibility of the Church of France,” Derain added.
Established in 2022 and funded by a fund provided by the Church of France, INIRR collects testimonies from victims and offers financial compensation of up to 60,000 euros.
