Polish bishop resigns after priestly sex party scandal

Warsaw: A Polish bishop, whose diocese was reportedly the scene of a sex party organised by priests at which Polish media say a male prostitute collapsed after taking erectile dysfunction pills, has resigned, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The statement did not give a reason for the resignation of Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak, saying only that the pope had accepted it.

Kaszak's diocese in southwest Poland has been engulfed in scandal since reports emerged in September of an orgy at the home of a priest in the town of Dabrowa Gornicza.

According to Polish media reports, a male prostitute collapsed at the party after taking too many erectile dysfunction pills.

One of the partygoers called an ambulance, but when paramedics arrived they were refused entry and were only able to attend to the man after police were called, according to the reports.

Since the incident, Kaszak had asked the faithful to pray for the priests involved, as well as other people who had done nothing wrong but had been affected by their behaviour, according to Gazeta Wyborcza daily and other media.

The priest who hosted the party in his apartment, named as Tomasz Z, was eventually dismissed, according to the state-run news agency PAP. The diocese said his behaviour was "a cause of great scandal for the faithful and justified indignation of public opinion", PAP reported.

In a statement posted on the diocesan website, Kaszak thanked the faithful for their support of the church. "I will always remember you in my prayers," he said.