The false accusations published by Polish liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza about Bishop Marek Mendyk are now costing the newspaper both money and its reputation. A Polish court of appeal in Wrocław found the allegations of sexual harassment and pedophilia published by the paper, including those made by editor Ewa Wilczyńska, were unfounded.
The court has now ordered the paper to pay 50,000 Polish zlotys (€12,000) over the case, which will go to charity, with the verdict being final. The original article about the bishop was entitled: “He allegedly told clerics that he liked watching children in the pool. Now, the Bishop of Świdnica is accused of pedophilia.”
As Polish news portal wPolityce.pl reported, the article targeting Mendyk was first published by Poland’s version of Newsweek, and then picked up by Gazeta Wyborcza, which repeated the allegations. However, the allegations were not only investigated by the Vatican court, which found them to be false, but also by the prosecutor’s office in Poland, which came to the same conclusion.
A legal battle ensued starting in spring of last year, with Gazeta Wyborcza losing the first trial, which was then upheld by the appellate court in Wrocław on March 20.
The attorney representing Mendyk was seen as the driving force behind the case against Gazeta Wyborcz.
Due to the verdict, the publisher of the paper, Agora SA, not only has to pay a fine, but also has to publish a public apology:
“Agora SA and Ewa Wilczyńska apologize to Bishop Marek Mendyk for violating personal rights — good name, honor, and dignity in the article entitled “He allegedly told clerics that he liked watching children in the pool. Now the Bishop of Świdnica is accused of pedophilia” published on the website wroclaw.wyborcza.pl, on Aug. 16, 2022. Agora SA and Ewa Wilczyńska declare that the material in question contains unfounded and untrue statements regarding Bishop Marek Mendyk. The information regarding the alleged commission of the crime of sexual abuse of a minor by Bishop Marek Mendyk has no support in the actual state of affairs. It is not true that Bishop Marek Mendyk is accused of pedophilia.
Bishop Mendyk’s case dragged on for 3 years and despite the findings of the Vatican commission and the lost trial in the first instance, the clergyman was exposed to attacks from the media and people hostile to him, especially from extremely anti-clerical circles.
