Pope Francis accepts resignation of Polish bishop after his diocese was rocked by priest’s gay orgy sex party that saw man overdose on erectile dysfunction pills
Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop whose diocese has been rocked by reports of a sex party involving a male prostitute at a priest’s flat.
While the Vatican gave no reason why Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak, 59, resigned as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec, in southwestern Poland, his diocese was in the news around the world after one of its priests, Father Tomasz Zmarzły, was investigated for a failed gay orgy.
It was reported that Father Tomasz tried to prevent paramedics from entering his flat in Dabrowa Gornicza after a man overdosed on erection pills at the sex party, which was attended by a male prostitute.
Waldemar Lubniewski, spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Sosnowiec, said the investigation focused on “the inability to provide assistance to a person in a situation involving an imminent threat of loss of life or serious damage to health.”
The scandal attracted significant attention in Poland, with the event further damaging the image of the church in the once staunchly Roman Catholic homeland of John Paul II.
Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak, 59, (photo) sent his letter of resignation to Pope Francis in September
Father Tomasz Zmarzły (photo) was investigated for a failed gay orgy
Pope Francis accepted Bishop Kaszak’s resignation after a series of scandals in his diocese
Polish society has been undergoing a rapid process of secularization for several years, with many people rejecting the Church and some even taking steps to formally leave the Church.
The alleged orgy was not the first incident involving clergy in the diocese to make headlines.
In 2010, the then acting rector of the Sosnowiec Seminary was said to have gotten into a scuffle at a gay club, but was allowed to stay in his job for over a year, even after the case was published in the Polish media.
The Holy See eventually intervened and dissolved the seminary completely, according to news agency PAP.
In March 2023, the corpse of a 26-year-old deacon was found with injuries consistent with murder.
Local prosecutors said he was murdered by a 40-year-old priest, who then committed suicide.
Prosecutors said the two had had a conflict-ridden relationship for some time and that the priest had sent the deacon threatening messages.
Father Tomasz allegedly tried to prevent paramedics from entering his flat when a man attending his sex party overdosed on erection pills
The sex party at Father Tomasz’s flat was reportedly attended by a male prostitute
In a statement released Tuesday, Kaszak said he asked the pope to let him resign in a letter sent to him on September 29.
He thanked the priests and nuns of his diocese and asked “everyone to forgive my human limitations.”
Kaszak was appointed bishop in 2009 by then-Pope Benedict XVI after briefly serving as a top official in the Vatican’s family office.
The diocese has largely confirmed media reports of Father Tomasz’s alleged orgy, saying an external investigative committee concluded he committed “a very serious violation of moral standards” as well as his obligations as a priest.
An ‘incident’ was reported in the priest’s apartment involving him and at least two other lay people.
Kaszak dismissed the priest from all positions in September and initiated an internal canonical process, the outcome of which could lead to expulsion, according to a statement on the diocesan website.
The priest has not yet been charged by Polish prosecutors. Polish media quoted a statement he made shortly after the scandal broke, in which he denied denying paramedics access to his apartment and questioned the definition of “orgy.”
“I consider this a clear attack on the Church, including the clergy and the faithful, to humiliate its position, duties and mission,” the priest was quoted in an emailed statement to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper.
Polish tabloid Fakt published what was said to be the audio recording of the phone call one of the participants made to the police.
In it, the person said he was kicked out of the apartment and begged for paramedics to come, at one point crying and saying his friend was foaming at the mouth after taking drugs.
The Polish Catholic Church has been rocked for years by allegations of sexual abuse of minors involving clergy, scandals that have led to the forced resignation of several bishops and tarnished the church’s reputation.
The Vatican Embassy in Poland said a temporary administrator, Archbishop Adrian Galbas of Katowice, will lead the diocese of Sosnowiec until a new bishop is appointed.