An interview by two FRANCE24 journalists with a Polish priest who is being investigated for alleged child abuse ended in a violent confrontation on Sunday. The video has sparked outrage in deeply Catholic Poland.

By FRANCE 24 Szczecin, Poland (text)

An attempted interview by two FRANCE 24 journalists with a priest accused of paedophilia ended in a violent confrontation on Sunday. The video has caused consternation in Poland, where the event has seemingly underscored rising tensions over the Catholic Church’s alleged efforts to cover up sex abuse.

FRANCE 24’s correspondent Gulliver Cragg and cameraman Tomasz Lubik requested an interview with the priest and as a result were briefly held against their will on May 12. The parish priest in the city of Szczecin invited them into the rectory, locked the door and tried to physically prevent them from leaving. The two journalists eventually managed to escape when the priest dropped his keys.

The video is part of a longer in-depth report about alleged child abuse by priests in Poland, one of Europe’s most Catholic countries.

Cragg said that after being confronted about the incident, the parish in question had denied the event had ever occurred and threatened to sue him for trespassing and slander.