A court in Warsaw has decided to start vetting procedures against Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus.

He was nominated as the Metropolitan of Warsaw and forced to resign on January 7 after documents surfaced on his collaboration with communist-time secret police in the 1970s.

In view of the vetting law, the procedure cannot be carried out in respect of persons who do not perform public posts.

The Warsaw court ruled that the Archbishop had performed a public function as rector of the Catholic University of Lublin.

It is not certain whether it will be possible for the procedure to be held behind closed doors, as requested by the Archbishop, who says that it concerns matters which should remain a secret within the Church.