Grojec priest Józef Zborek removed as parish head over Mass offerings charge
Bishop Roman Pindel removed Fr Józef Zborek as parish priest in Grojec near Oświęcim. The priest's statement dated 13 October lays out the charges against him, and parishioners have since launched a campaign for his return.
Removal and protest in Grojec
The Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec said Bishop Roman Pindel removed Fr Józef Zborek as parish priest of St Lawrence in Grojec, near Oświęcim in Lesser Poland, for "proven and documented serious irregularities" in how he held the office. The bishop did not specify those irregularities and said only the removed priest could reveal them. On 4 October the bishop came to the parish in connection with the decision. Hundreds of people gathered around the church and prevented him and other priests from leaving. The bishop left only after midnight, escorted by police.
The charges, as the priest describes them
In a statement dated Tuesday, 13 October, and published on the parish website, Zborek says Pindel opened an administrative penal process against him in 2024. He says he was accused of two offences under canon law: unlawful gain from Mass offerings, and destroying a church document, the book of Mass intentions. For the first offence he was removed from the Grojec post, and for the second he was ordered to pay a fine of 5,000 złoty. The diocese has not published the charges itself, so the account rests on the priest's statement.
- Bishop Pindel opens an administrative penal process against Zborek, according to the priest
- Bishop visits the Grojec parish; hundreds surround the church
- Bishop leaves the parish under police escort
- Zborek publishes a statement setting out the charges
Appeals and the stipend question
Zborek says the Dicastery for the Clergy upheld the decision after his appeal. He says the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura first admitted his appeal against the Dicastery's decree, then discontinued the case on formal grounds only. According to him, the Dicastery's reasoning treats the transfer of Mass stipends to work carried out in the Grojec parish as a benefit he gained, while he says he passed the stipends from binated and trinated Masses to the curia.
The decision of the bishop to remove me from the office of parish priest in Grojec is incomprehensible to me.
He also says the presumption of innocence in his case was replaced by a presumption of guilt. He states that he respects the bishop's authority and leaves the parish in pain and with a sense of injustice.
Parishioners and the parish's future
Parishioners launched a campaign called "1000 serc dla księdza Józefa" (1000 hearts for Father Józef), collected signatures, and want lawyers to check whether the removal followed the proper procedures. The parish now has one vicar, who can celebrate one Mass on weekdays and two on Sundays, while five Sunday Masses are planned. Neighbouring priests help keep that schedule, and retired priests are expected to come to Grojec in the coming weeks. Opinions circulating in public say the priest celebrated more Masses than canon law allows, and one report lists this among the charges, although Zborek's statement names only the two offences. Parishioners also say the priest denied a bishop's video statement claiming he had admitted guilt at a curia meeting the day after the visit.