At 59, he is several years shy of the normal retirement age of But his diocese has been in the spotlight again after one of his priests was placed under criminal investigation for an Aug. Polish media reported that one of the participants of a sex party at the home collapsed after overdosing on erectile dysfunction pills. The reports said the priest allegedly tried to initially bar paramedics from entering the apartment. John Paul II.
For several years now, Polish society has been undergoing a fast process of secularization, with many people rejecting the church and some even taking steps to leave it formally. Pope Francis moved with unusual speed to remove Kaszak after the bishop said he offered to resign Sept. In , the then-acting rector of the Sosnowiec seminary allegedly got into a scuffle at a gay club, but was allowed to remain in his job for over a year even after the case was publicized by Polish media.
The Holy See finally intervened and dissolved the seminary altogether, according to the PAP news agency. In March , the corpse of a year-old deacon was found with injuries suggesting homicide.
Local prosecutors said he had been killed by a year-old priest who then committed suicide. Prosecutors said the two had been in a conflictual relationship for some time and that the priest had sent the deacon threatening messages, PAP reported. In a statement Tuesday, Kaszak said he had asked the pope to let him resign in a letter Sept. The diocese, which identified the priest involved in the incident as Fr. Tomasz Z.
Kaszak dismissed the priest from all functions on Sept. The priest has not been charged by Polish prosecutors. Polish tabloid Fakt published what it said was the audio recording of the call one of the participants made to police.
