Polish Episcopate begins 406th Plenary Assembly in Zakopane

The Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP) has commenced its 406th Plenary Assembly in Zakopane, scheduled from October 22 to 24. A primary focus of the meeting is the work regarding the Commission of Independent Experts, established in March to investigate the sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church in Poland. Bishops will discuss the legal aspects of the Commission's statute, specifically concerning its legal personality under state law.

Other key agenda items include a report from Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda regarding a recent meeting of episcopal presidents in the Vatican. The assembly will also address reforms to the KEP's media entities, including the implementation of a Media Fund to finance the Press Office, the Catholic Information Agency, and the Opoka Portal.

Additionally, the bishops are expected to discuss religious education in schools, youth values in the context of school aggression, the evaluation of the synod on synodality within Polish dioceses, and a vote on the Directory for the life, formation, and ministry of permanent deacons in Poland.