The end of the priesthood for the priest accused of pedophilia. We know the pope's decision

On September 23, 2024, Pope Francis decided to remove Jan Wodniak from the list of priests in the Bielsko-Żywiec diocese. This decision came to light during a civil lawsuit filed by Janusz Szymik, who was sexually abused by Wodniak as a teenager. Wodniak, who served as a parish priest for 31 years, is now prohibited from performing sacraments and must support himself after being laicized. Despite the statute of limitations on his crimes, he has been registered as a sexual offender. Szymik and another victim are seeking damages from the Church for covering up the abuse, with Szymik awarded 400,000 PLN in a preliminary ruling. Wodniak admitted to the abuse during a canonical trial in 2014 and was subsequently removed from his parish. He was last seen in 2021 violating isolation rules. The diocese has not commented on the situation.