_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ POLAND ________________

Bishop under pressure
Vatican forced to take notice
The Vatican has acknowledged receiving reports that a leading Polish prelate has been accused of sexual misconduct.

Archbishop Juliusz Paetz of Poznan has been accused of making advances toward priests of his archdiocese. The Polish news agency PAP reports that the archbishop has denied those charges. However, a Polish television report claimed that Archbishop Patz had been asked by the Vatican to submit his resignation.

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the chief spokesman for the Holy See, declined to comment on the substance of the reports from the Poznan archdiocese. In a formal statement, he said only that the Vatican “is following the affair with keen attention.”

However, observers in Poland and in Rome say that Pope John Paul II sent a committee to investigate the Poznan archdiocese after receiving complaints that Archbishop Paetz had frequently approached seminarians for sexual favors. The accusations against Archbishop Paetz, long the subject of rumors in Poland, became impossible to ignore when the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita published a story entitled “Sin at the Archbishop’s Palace.” The paper reported that a seminary rector had barred the archbishop from visiting because of his behavior.

The Daily Telegraph of London has reported the Vatican’s investigating committee had reached the conclusion that Archbishop Paetz must resign.

Another papal visit
Plans for a summer trip
Pope John Paul II will visit his native Poland again in August, if his health permits it, knowledgeable Vatican sources report.

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski met privately with the Pope during a February trip to Rome, and repeated his invitation for the Pontiff to travel to Poland once again. For the record, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls would say only that the Pope “expressed his appreciation” for the invitation. But Vatican insiders said that arrangements were already underway.

In fact, in his remarks to reporters after the meeting, President Kwasniewski said that the Pope would visit Krakow, and the Marian sanctuary at Kalwaria, south of that city. The Polish leader said that the papal visit would probably take place August 16-20, although the dates could change “depending on his other trips.”