A supporter wearing a sticker with an image of John Paul II on her coat takes part in a march and rally to defend the memory of late former Polish-born Pope John Paul II on the 18th anniversary of his death, in Warsaw, Poland on April 2, 2023. - Demonstrators gathered in Poland on April 2 to defend the reputation of late pope John Paul II, who has been accused of having concealed crimes of paedophilia while he was archbishop of Krakow. The late Polish pope knew about child abuse in Poland's Catholic church years before becoming pontiff and helped cover it up, according to reports of private broadcaster TVN released at the beginning of March 2023. Michal Gutowski, the investigator behind the broadcast, said that Karol Wojtyla, as he then was, knew of cases of paedophile priests within the church while still a cardinal in Krakow. He transferred the priests to other dioceses -- one as far away as Austria -- to ensure no scandal ensued, he said. Wojtyla was pope for 27 years from 1978 until his death in 2005. (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP)