Poland Justice Ministry says Church Abuse Commission statute violates law

At the 404th plenary meeting of the Polish Episcopal Conference held 10‑12 March 2026 in Warsaw, the bishops created an independent expert commission to examine sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic Church in Poland and planned to grant it public legal personality under secular law. The draft statute for the commission was sent to the Ministry of Justice for review before a ministerial decree could confer legal status.

The Ministry of Justice, in a statement signed by Secretary of State Arkadiusz Myrcha, said several provisions of the draft conflict with Polish criminal law, EU law and data‑protection rules. In particular, the ministry objected to the commission’s authority to interview victims and witnesses outside criminal proceedings and the reliance on merely voluntary consent, deeming those clauses unlawful.