Statue of Polish priest accused of sex abuse to be removed

A picture taken on December 6, 2018 in Gdansk shows a statue of late priest Henryk Jankowski covered with paint, a few days after the publication of testimonies of people accusing him of paedophilia. –  Jankowski, former Catholic chaplain of Solidarity, had been the first free trade union of the communist bloc in the early 1980s, and died in 2010. The priest’s hands and a piece of his cassock were stained with red paint while a candle was displayed in front of the statue with the inscription “Ewa, 16 years old”, the first name of a possible victim of his actions. (Photo by Krzysztof MYSTKOWSKI / AFP)

 

WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — The statue of a Solidarity-era Polish priest accused of sex abuse will be permanently removed from a public square, city authorities in the port of Gdansk decided on Thursday, despite objections from supporters.

Claims of abuse against the late priest Henryk Jankowski resurfaced in December when liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza published an article reviving allegations that had first surfaced years ago.

Gdansk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz said she saw only “one possible decision”, speaking ahead of Thursday’s city hall vote to remove the statue.

(FILES) This file photo taken on January 1, 2000 shows Father Henryk Jankowski, a former priest of Poland’s legendary Solidarity trade union. – As the city of Gdansk decided on March 7, 2019, a statue of Jankowski, accused of paedophilia, will be removed from a square named after him. (Photo by Janek SKARZYNSKI / AFP)

Jankowski, who died in 2010, had faced long-standing accusations of paedophilia.

An investigation into allegations of sex abuse by Jankowski against young boys and girls was opened but shelved in 2004.

Activists toppled the statue last month and then draped it with underwear and altar boy’s clothing.

The incident occurred several hours before the opening of a landmark Vatican summit on fighting child abuse within the Catholic Church.

Supporters of the priest, including conservatives and Solidarity union representatives, then restored it to its plinth.

The three men arrested over toppling the statue face up to five years in prison.

Late last year activists also daubed red paint on the hands of the privately-financed statue.

Jankowski was a close aide to Lech Walesa during the Gdansk shipyard strikes in 1980 led by the anti-communist Solidarity movement and which led to the creation of Poland’s first free trade union.

It went on to play a pivotal role in toppling communism in 1989.

After the regime fell, Jankowski’s reputation was tarnished amid claims by some former associates that he was a nationalist with anti-European and anti-Semitic tendencies.


© Agence France-Presse

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