Senior bishop resigns after priest was linked to ‘gay orgy’ scandal
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Polish bishop Grzegorz Kaszak as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec after Father Tomasz Zmarzły reportedly organised a “gay orgy” (Getty)
The pope has accepted the resignation of Polish bishop, Grzegorz Kaszak, after a member of his diocese was placed under criminal investigation due to involvement in an alleged gay orgy.
On Tuesday (24 October), Kaszak said he had asked the pope to let him resign as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec, in south-western Poland, in a letter dated 29 September.
In the letter, the 59-year-old, who is stepping down 15 years before the normal retirement age, thanked the priests and nuns of his diocese and asked “everyone to forgive my human limitations”.
It is not known why Kaszak, who was appointed bishop in 2009 by then pope, Benedict XVI, is retiring, but the pope Francis I, who was praised at the start of October for saying same-sex couples could have their unions blessed, has accepted his resignation.
Kaszak’s resignation comes amid his diocese being put under scrutiny after a priest, identified by the diocese as Tomasz Z, was placed under criminal investigation for allegedly organising a gay orgy.
According to The Guardian, the priest arranged the orgy at his apartment in Dąbrowa Górnicza with the involvement of a male sex worker.
Polish media reported that one participant collapsed after overdosing on erectile dysfunction pills at the event.
A prosecutor said the priest was suspected of “failing to provide assistance to a person whose life is at risk” after he allegedly tried to bar paramedics from entering the apartment.
But in a statement made by Tomasz Z to Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, he denied preventing the paramedics access to his home and questioned the definition of “orgy”, he said: “I perceive this as an obvious attack on the church, including the clergy and the faithful, in order to humiliate its position, tasks and mission.”
The diocese confirmed an outside investigative commission concluded that Tomasz Z committed “a very serious violation of moral norms”, as well as of his obligations as a clergyman.
Prior to his retirement, Kaszak dismissed Tomasz Z from all functions on 21 September.
This was followed by an in-house canonical trial. The result of the trial could see the priest defrocked and stripped of his clerical state.
