Polish diocese apologizes for asking if abuse victim is gay

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Catholic diocese in Poland has apologized for having asked a court to determine whether a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest is gay, and whether the sexual contact may have consequently been pleasurable for him. The diocese on Thursday apologized to the victim and to anyone scandalized by the contents of the letter. The victim, Janusz Szymik, who is now 48, was an altar boy when the abuse began in the 1980s. An official with the Polish bishops’ conference responsible for the protection of children, strongly criticized the diocese’s questions to the court and said that children are never responsible for the violence they suffered and that sexual orientation irrelevant in abuse cases.