Recently, the Diocese of Legnica has seen several significant and sudden personnel changes. Fr. Piotr Zawadka was dismissed from his position as parish priest of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe Parish in Lubin and from his position as diocesan bursar. Fr. Leopold Rzodkiewicz became administrator of the Lubin parish. Then, on Friday, former Caritas director Fr. Robert Serafin was appointed the new administrator in Lubin, replacing Fr. Leopold Rzodkiewicz, while Fr. Piotr Zawadka remains on leave.
The change is significant because Fr. Piotr Zawadka held responsible positions in the diocese, including that of bursar, meaning the person responsible for the diocese’s property and financial affairs.
This was not the only change, however. Fr. Piotr Kutkiewicz, parish priest of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe Parish in Bogatynia, became diocesan bursar. Fr. Robert Serafin was dismissed as director of Caritas of the Diocese of Legnica, and Anna Chałupa became the new director of Caritas.
According to information confirmed by the editorial team, the changes also affected Fr. Michał Marszałek, previously a vicar in Jelenia Góra. The clergyman was assigned to the Retirement Home for Priests.
The istotne.pl editorial team contacted the press spokesperson for the Diocese of Legnica with questions about the reasons for these decisions. We asked, among other things, about the reasons for Fr. Piotr Zawadka’s dismissal, the possible connection between the changes and financial matters or a review of documentation, the reasons for the change at Caritas, and the decision concerning Fr. Michał Marszałek.
In his response, Fr. Waldemar Wesołowski, press spokesperson for the Diocese of Legnica, did not address the reasons for the individual changes in detail. He wrote:
Under the Code of Canon Law, the person managing a diocese is the diocesan bishop, who decides on the filling of all positions in the diocese. The diocesan bishop also makes decisions concerning all changes and is not obliged to provide outsiders with the reasons for such changes, as they are not information of a public nature.
The spokesperson did not deny the information about the personnel changes, but did not explain why they occurred. He also did not answer whether the decisions were administrative, disciplinary, financial, health-related or pastoral in nature.
The matter raises questions because, within a short time, the changes affected several important areas of the diocese’s operations: parish management, the position of diocesan bursar, Caritas and priests serving in pastoral roles.
The curia invokes the autonomy of the Church and the powers of the diocesan bishop. From the perspective of the faithful, however, the question remains whether the series of sudden personnel decisions is an ordinary reorganization or a response to specific problems within the diocese.
For now, the Diocese of Legnica has not issued a broader statement explaining the reasons for the changes.