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Warning: The following story contains violent content. Reader discretion advised.
The Archbishop of Warsaw has asked the Vatican to defrock a priest who confessed to murdering a homeless man last week and is facing prosecution for the crime, according to a July 27 report from PolskieRadio.
Archbishop Adrian Galbas also asked Catholics to pray for the victim and his loved ones and for all priests in the archdiocese to hold penitential services this past weekend for the repose of the victim’s soul.
“The blood of our murdered brother cries out to God,” Archbishop Galbas said July 25, according to Katholisch International.
“[The archbishop] had no words of comfort at the moment and no answer to any question that began with the word ‘why,’” the outlet noted.
Archbishop Galbas said “I am crushed and shaken by the news that one of my priests brutally murdered a poor and homeless person.”
AP News reports that the victim has been identified as Anatol Cz. The priest, 60, has only been identified as Mirosław M. due to Polish privacy rules, and has been charged by prosecutors “with murder of particular cruelty,” according to PolskieRadio. The priest faces 15 years to life in prison, according to AP News.
Prosecutors allege that the priest and the victim got into a heated argument while driving on rural roads, and “the priest allegedly struck the man with an axe and then doused him in flammable liquid and set him ablaze while he was still alive,” PolskieRadio reported.
“The background to this is said to have been a contract in which the priest undertook to look after the 68-year-old for the rest of his life and to organise accommodation for the man in return for a donation,” Katholisch reports.
According to the outlet, a Radom Public Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman said, “The conflict centred on the question of where the homeless man should live.”
A cyclist saw the man’s burning body in a field and saw the license plate of the car driving away at the scene, prompting him to contact the police, according to Katholisch. The license plate was traced back to the rectory, where the priest was arrested. The priest then confessed to murdering Anatol, according to PolskieRadio.
Archbishop Galbas has promised to cooperate with officials in the investigation.
Editor’s note: this article was updated at 8:02 am ET 07/29/2025.