The Curia said yesterday that as soon as the Archbishop, Mgr Joseph Mercieca became aware that a Maltese priest serving abroad was suspected of child abuse, he withdrew all the faculties to that priest to serve in the archdiocese.
In a statement, the Curia said: "With reference to certain media reports concerning the archdiocese of Malta and a Maltese priest`s permanence in the diocese of Portsmouth, the media office of the archdiocese of Malta would like to clarify the following:
"The priest concerned has never been incardinated in the Archdiocese of Malta and so was never under the authority of the archbishop.
"The moment the archbishop came to know that the priest concerned was suspected of child abuse, the archbishop withdrew all faculties for him to serve in the archdiocese.
"The priest concerned did not inform the archbishop when he decided to leave Malta and go abroad. Nor did the priest ever inform the archbishop of his whereabouts abroad."
The Curia said that in April last year, Mgr Mercieca and the Bishop of Portsmouth were both attending a meeting of European bishops in Strasbourg.
"In the course of casual conversation about problems posed by alleged child sexual abuse which bishops have to face, the archbishop mentioned that the Response Team was conducting a preliminary investigation.
"During the conversation the name of a Maltese priest was mentioned and the two bishops realised that the priest being investigated in Malta was at that time serving in the Diocese of Portsmouth.
"That was the first time that the archbishop came to know that the priest concerned was serving in the Portsmouth diocese. He immediately offered the Bishop of Portsmouth all possible assistance regarding this case.
"On February 5, the Bishop of Portsmouth sent a letter to the archbishop asking whether the investigations in Malta regarding the priest concerned had been concluded and seeking to be informed about their revelations.
"On March 11, the archbishop officially informed the Bishop of Portsmouth about the conclusions of the Response Team with regard to the case of the priest concerned."