After the death of the beaten Kamil from Częstochowa shocked the whole of Poland, the Sejm passed a law that is supposed to prevent such tragedies. Among other things, it assumes that from August 15 all public institutions that have contact with children must comply with certain rules for the protection of minors. The Roman Catholic Church is among them.
Father Radosław Rakowski is pleased with the new standards for protecting children in the Church. A priest who wants to work in the Poznań Łacina Parish must sign them. – After all the events that happened in the past, after all the situations in different countries, today we really have to be very strict in introducing the rules – emphasizes Father Radosław Rakowski.
The new standards are to help avoid tragedies like those in Częstochowa, where vicar Stanisław Ś. harmed two teenage girls. The court sentenced him to four years and two months in prison. It would be naive to think that the regulations will eliminate evil, but the standards will help protect minors.
In the guidelines of the Wrocław Curia we read that it is not allowed to spend time alone with children behind closed doors, to multiply these meetings, to prolong them, to meet late in the evening or at night. It is not allowed to transport minors in private cars, especially alone, without the consent of their parents. It is not allowed to touch children against their will, or to take pictures of them without their consent.
– These are not new guidelines for the Church. In fact, we are talking about these norms because the parliament passed the so-called Kamilka Act, which obliges all institutions, not the Church (…), to introduce appropriate norms – indicates Father Rafał Kowalski, spokesman Archdiocese of Wrocław.
The spokesman for the curia claims that such arrangements have been in force for five years. Even if they were, the parishioners may not have known about it. Now this must change. – It should be absolutely normal that the faithful are informed, these are their rights. It is in the interest of priests to take care of the rights of the faithful – emphasizes Father Paweł Gużyński, a Dominican.
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The rules must be public and accessible
On August 15, all institutions that have contact with children – from schools, through clubs, churches, to hotels – must apply protection standards – says the so-called Kamilek Act, passed after the torture of Kamilek from Częstochowa. This is so that children in Poland are safe. The rules must be open and accessible. They must be made public by Thursday.
– The standards of protection of minors should be known to the employees of a given facility, the children themselves, and also the parents themselves. This is a very clear signal: we do not hide violence under the carpet – emphasizes Monika Horna-Cieślak, the Ombudsman for Children. Parishes must also designate a trusted person to whom one can report, who will note the problem and then notify, for example, the prosecutor's office. They will not leave the child alone. – Training for parish priests, for lay people working in church institutions, has been underway since September – informs Dawid Gospodarek from the Catholic Information Agency. – The introduction of standards is much more important to us than the well-being of the priest – assures Father Radosław Rakowski.
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