Christian World | A district court in Tarnów, Poland, convicted Bishop Andrzej Jeż of failing to promptly report two priests' sexual abuse of minors; the diocese will appeal

ACW | October 30, 2026 — A district court in Tarnów, Poland, on Thursday, October 29, found Bishop Andrzej Jeż guilty in two cases of failing to promptly report the sexual abuse of minors, the Diocese of Tarnów said.

In a statement, the diocesan curia said it disagrees with the verdict, which is not final and does not conclusively settle the bishop's criminal liability. His lawyers will request the written justification and then appeal, it said. The curia again expressed deep regret for the suffering of victims.

The Catholic News Agency (CNA), citing Polish media, reported that the court imposed two years of "restriction of liberty", a non-custodial penalty. Under it, 1,000 zlotys a month of the bishop's salary go to a children's charity, and he must pay 10,000 zlotys per count to a state victims' fund, CNA said.

CNA reported that the judge said the bishop's task was to file notifications, not to assess individual cases, and that she did not find his testimony credible. The prosecutor had asked for a suspended sentence and a 20,000-zloty fine.

The diocese says that in the first case the bishop received concrete information in 2019 and reported to prosecutors in 2020. In the second, it says he learned in late 2021 and reported on December 16, 2021. CNA reports that prosecutors argued the curia knew earlier.

Background: CNA says this is the first criminal trial of a Polish bishop on such a charge; the second priest's case is still pending in Nowy Sącz. ACW earlier reported that the New York Archdiocese reached a deal with abuse claimants.

Why it matters: CNA reports that the court held canon law does not override Poland's legal duty to report, in what it describes as the first criminal trial of a Polish bishop for failing to report child abuse.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Diocese of Tarnów — Statement of the Curia after the verdict in the case of Bishop Andrzej Jeż; Catholic News Agency — Polish court convicts Tarnów bishop of failing to promptly report abuse

Photo: Diocese of Tarnów