A petition for a legal action to ban the confession of children and adolescents under the age of 16, unless in the presence of an adult guardian, is to be submitted to the Parliament in the upcoming days. The writer and performer Rafał Betlejewski has initiated the collection of signatures on this issue.

Confession is an intrusion into a child's intimate world, conducted with the requirement to tell the "whole truth" under the threat of divine punishment. Confessors are people who do not have adequate psychological training. Child psychologists warn that confession can be a form of psychological violence. It can also be a field of sexual abuse and psychological harassment. Therefore, the confession of children and adolescents under the age of 16 should be banned! - reads the petition at avaaz.org

Betlejewski has been actively opposing the role the Catholic Church plays in shaping Polish reality for many years. He hopes that in a few years or so, social consent for "children entering a baroque wardrobe with grown men and confessing their fears and 'guilt' on their knees" will become history.

The presentation of the petition was scheduled as early as 7 June, but, as Betlejewski reported on Facebook, at the last moment it was postponed. The meeting was cancelled by Green Party MPs (Partia Zielonych), who had previously agreed to receive the petition from its originator.

In a live report, Betlejewski announced that he is waiting patiently for a new date for the meeting at the Parliament. He asks observers to use the extra time to collect more signatures. The petition is available on the Avaaz portal. As of 13 June, it has been signed by more than 10,000 people.