WARSAW, Poland - The archbishop of Warsaw called on the Vatican to defrock a priest for the murder of a 68-year-old homeless man whose body was set on fire after struck with an axe.

Following the brutal incident, Warsaw Archbishop Adrian Galbas on wrote the Holy See requesting that the priest be dismissed from the priesthood.

Defrocking the priest is the highest penalty provided under the canon law against an erring cleric.

Police have withheld the full name of the priest in compliance to Polish privacy laws. However, he was named as Miroslaw M., a fictitious identity.

On Saturday (July 25), government prosecutors filed a case of murder with particular cruelty against the priest who remains under police custody.
Reports said the accused faces a 15-year prison term once found guilty.

Police investigation revealed that Miroslaw M. and the victim, Anatol Cz. were inside a car late Thursday when they argued heatedly over money.

Aneta Gozdz, spokesperson for the Radom District Prosecutor’s Office said the alteration was triggered by a donation agreement between victim and accused.

Gozdz said the priest had previously agreed to provide lifelong assistance and care for his would-be victim.

The argument became more heated when the two debated on the housing arrangement for Anatol Cz.

In the heat of the altercation that now took place outside the car, the priest took out an axe and doused the mortally wounded victim with flammable liquid before setting him on fire.

The priest escaped upon seeing a bicycle rider approaching.

“An autopsy showed that the victim suffered burns covering 80%of his body and head injuries caused by a sharp-edged heavy object,”Gozdz said.