As Poland’s bishops visit Rome for their quinquennial ad limina visit, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the bishops’ conference, said that “critical remarks have been made about the Holy See’s treatment of bishops who’ve had punishments imposed for shortcomings, transgressions or acts of forgetfulness in dealing with clergy accused of pedophilia.”

In a meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, some Polish bishops “highlighted the disproportionate, lasting penalties imposed on bishops after initial investigations, when pedophile criminals can leave prison after five years and begin a new life with a clean sheet,” Archbishop Gadecki continued. “We’re talking about the civil death of an accused hierarch who isn’t a pedophile, who’s removed from office, falls into infamy and is effectively annihilated by the media.”