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5d ago

Archbishop of Warsaw Seeks Priest’s Defrocking After Murder With Particular Cruelty Charge

The petition follows his indictment on murder-with-cruelty charges stemming from an axe attack that immolated a 68-year-old homeless man.

FILE - A crowd gathers in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, where newly elected Pope Leo XIV will deliver a blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
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A Warsaw archbishop has asked the Vatican to defrock a priest charged with brutally murdering a homeless man with an ax and fire following a dispute over housing.

Overview

  • Prosecutors on Saturday charged Mirosław M. with murder with particular cruelty, carrying a sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment.
  • Investigators say a dispute in a car over a donation agreement, under which the priest promised lifelong support, prompted him to strike the man with an axe, douse him in flammable liquid and set him on fire.
  • A post-mortem examination showed burns covering 80 percent of the victim’s body and head injuries consistent with an axe blow.
  • Archbishop Adrian Galbas has requested defrocking from the Vatican, the church’s most severe clerical penalty, alongside the ongoing criminal proceedings.
  • The priest remains detained pending trial and the Vatican has not yet responded to the archbishop’s petition.