Plagiarist Priests May Face Jail Time in Poland

If Polish priests don’t stop their plagiarizing ways, they could be slapped with a fine or even thrown in jail for 3 years, church authorities warn. Uninspired priests have been swiping their homilies off the Internet, and “unfortunately the practice has become more usual than not,” said Father Wieslaw Przyczyna, who opposes the “unethical” pilfering.

Przyczyna has co-written a self-help guide, To Plagiarize or Not to Plagiarize, designed to help priests write their own sermons. The problem isn’t confined to Poland; clergy worldwide have been ordering the pamphlet. But some oppose its message. One critic accuses Przyczyna of “harassing priests and exposing their weaknesses," the Guardian reports. (More Catholic Church stories.)