The Koszalin Regional Court in Poland is set to hear the next round of testimony in the case of a man who, at the age of 12, was sexually abused by a priest. Cardinal Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz will give the latest testimony via video on September 12.

Marcin K., the victim, filed the lawsuit against Zbigniew R., the Kołobrzeg-Koszalin Diocese and St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Parish, seeking 200,000 Polish złoty in personal damages and an official apology to be published in the national edition of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper and Newsweek Polska magazine.

Zbigniew R., the priest responsible for the sexual abuse, was convicted in December 2012 on criminal charges relating to the incident. He is currently serving a two-year sentence in prison.

“This case is undoubtedly of a precedent nature. A majority of victims of pedophilia within the Church are usually unable to receive final sentences or are unable to seek justice due to expiration of time limits for prosecution,” said Dr. Adam Bodnar, deputy president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. “The Foundation decided to become involved in the case because we concluded that the area is susceptible to serious human rights violations.”

In October 2013, a conciliatory hearing took place before the Koszalin District Court, during which the attorney for St. Adalbert Parish and the Kołobrzeg-Koszalin Diocese argued that there were no grounds to hold Church authorities responsible for the acts committed by the former parish priest. The counsel of Zbigniew R. also stated that a settlement would be unreasonable at the current stage of the proceedings.

Mr. Wojciech Dobkowski has agreed to represent Marcin K. pro bono as a courtesy to the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. The HFHR is an observer of the case.