Claudia Calleja
No comment on when Church probe will reach a conclusion
The head of the Church-appointed response team looking into allegations of sexual abuse by priests in an orphanage will not say when he expects to conclude the investigation that started seven years ago.
“I give no details about the case... I don’t discuss the case at all,” Judge Victor Caruana Colombo said when asked when the response team would wrap up the investigation now that it had the victims’ testimonies in hand.
The Vatican’s Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mgr Charles Scicluna, who conducted interviews with victims in June and July, presented his report on the meetings to the Archdiocese of Malta in July.
His aim had been to gather direct information to supplement the work being done on the case by the Curia’s response team in the hope that the full investigation would be concluded “expeditiously”.
Mgr Scicluna said on Monday it was now up to the Archdiocese to conclude its investigation “in a timely manner”.
Earlier this year, Judge Caruana Colombo had said the response team would only pass on a report to the Archbishop “when all witnesses are heard”. Even then he stressed he could not comment on this particular case, involving allegations by eight men that they were abused by priests at St Joseph Home in Sta Venera in the 1980s and 1990s.
He would not comment yesterday on whether the investigation could be speeded up once Mgr Scicluna’s report was in hand.
According to general procedure, when the response team concludes its report it will hand it over to the Archbishop and the Major Superior, who would then refer it to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.
The response team does not make its conclusions public.
The Vatican may appoint an ad hoc tribunal to decide on the punishment, with the harshest being the dismissal from priesthood.
The Church’s response team has received 84 allegations of child abuse, involving 45 Maltese priests, over the last 11 years.
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patrick zammit
Sep 1st 2010, 22:42
Pope Benedict still thinks that the "holy" church and its officials are above the law.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2010/06/police_raids_on_church_are_dep.html
Paul Micallef
Sep 1st 2010, 18:31
And I taught that things will change with the appointment of the new bishops. Kemm kont zbaljat.
gloria sullivan
Sep 1st 2010, 21:22
You thought things would change with a new Bishop? I don't want to be rude but THIS HAS BEEN OPENLY DISCUSSED ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS, WHEN THE PAPERS AND THE INTERET REVEALED THE SECRET STUFF GOING ON IN THE RCC
This church has been doing these bad things since it's inception,. In the middle of the 1st century. St. Paul warned the new christians not to listen to the people who were infiltraiting their little groups, but many didn't listen to him. These evil people were teaching a gospel that was not of Jesus Christ.
He said, " even if they come to you as angels , DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM"Thus you have a FAUX church ,mimicking the Real Church of Jesus. A Church of Man Almighty, not an inspired Church of God Almighty
Joseph Calleja
Sep 1st 2010, 14:52
So here we go again, it's in the hands of the incompetent church appointed cover up team. This team had 7 years to investigate 8 rapes reported by 8 kids, now men. Now let's see first of all where is the court case, yes the charges made to the police? Or is there any? Check this out, a couple of people got into a scuffle during a water polo game last Saturday, yes 5 days ago and they have already been arraigned, a certain Mayor of Sliema was accused of taking bribes a month ago and he is already arraigned and so on but the police and the courts seem to have a problem arraigning three pedophile priests after it's been seven years since these charges were filed. To the head of the Cover Up Team I say stop wasting time and get on with it. The raping of these 8 kids happened around 20 years ago and the allegations were filed 7 years ago and you still can't decide. Your Honor I will try help you go ahead and come to a conclusion. 8 kids allegedly molested by 3 priests. That's not so hard to understand, is it?
William P Flynn
Sep 1st 2010, 14:25
In Brussels Judge Victor Caruana Colombo wouldn't be asked to comment. The police would force him to surrender all documents or they would start tearing down the walls of the Curia to find them.
But that's Brussels; this is Malta. When will we learn? Remove all power from the Catholic church.
Joseph Calleja
Sep 1st 2010, 15:55
But Mr Flynn, the catholic church is the Power in Malta. Don't you know that? A pedophile is a pedophile, whether he is a priest or a layman, there is no difference. But in Malta they are treated differently. Why? Because the church is the power not the government. A case like this should not take 7 years to solve, shame on the police and the courts. This is 2010 and we are still living by 1940 laws. Molesting innocent children is a crime in the eyes of the church and in the eyes of the law, so what is the hold up? I guess not everybody is treated equal.
Frank Muscat
Sep 1st 2010, 14:21
GERMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH REWRITES SEX ABUSE GUIDELINES
"THE REVISED RULES INSIST ALL ALLEGATIONS MUST BE REPORTED TO PROSECUTORS IN AN ATTEMPT TO PREVENT CASES BEING COVERED UP....THE OLD GUIDELINES HAD NOT REQUIRED CASES TO BE REPORTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, AND HAD INSTEAD ONLY 'ADVISED' IT IF THE ALLEGATIONS WERE 'PROVEN'" ( BBC NEWS, 31 AUGUST 2010. LAST UPDATED 16.44GMT).
WHAT IS HOLDING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MALTA TO ISSUE SIMILAR GUIDELINES?
SOUND AND BRAVE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING BY THE MEDIA IS URGENTLY CALLED FOR.
HOW ABOUT THE COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN? HER SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES.
AND WHAT IS THE POSITION OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICY IN THIS REGARD?
THE THREE ENTITIES ABOVE MERELY PAY LIP SERVICE TO THE PRINCIPLE THAT CHILDREN'S INTERESTS ARE PARAMOUNT.
TO CONCLUDE, I FIND IT UTTERLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT PARENTS SEEM TO HAVE NO OPINION ON THIS ISSUE. NO DEAR PARENTS, YOU ARE NOT COMMITTING A SIN OR A CRIME BY SPEAKING UP ON BEHALF OF YOUR CHILDREN!
ray sacco
Sep 1st 2010, 14:00
a high official of the catholic church regime said that voting for divorce is a sin! but covering up for these monsters and dragging their feet to come up with answers from their farcical so called investigations is not a sin?!?!?!?!?!?!?! GODS OF HYPOCRISY!
patrick zammit
Sep 1st 2010, 11:55
"The Vatican may appoint an ad hoc tribunal to decide on the punishment, with the harshest being the dismissal from priesthood."
Li kieku mhux sitwazjoni tal-biki tkun wahda tad-dahk!
MSciberras
Sep 1st 2010, 11:23
I am a citizen of a democratic state and I do not care less when the Church will be concluding its so-called investigations - 7 years after they started!!!! What I want to know is when the police will be concluding THEIR investigations. They are the legal authority to conduct an investigation, and what people want to know is why and how a police investigation can take so many years to be concluded.
Is there no authority or institution in this country - Church included, but also the courts, the police and so on - that knows the meaning and the importance of acting in a manner that inspires public confidence in it (so necessary in a healthy society)? Or is this considered just useless PR? In so many countries people are proud and have faith in their institutions, and it shows in the respect they have for the law, and in the greater 'discipline' you see all around. You can see the difference in Malta, from the widespread tendency to badmouth and belittle our own country with its immense achievements, the widespread disregard of laws and regulations to the scepticism and pessimism about everything, even when this is unwarranted.
Karl Consiglio
Sep 1st 2010, 10:51
The Church has to forgive according to the teachings of Christ so as you can see there would be hardly any punishment except that of them leaving priesthood and becoming one of us, some punishment, the matter ought to be in the hands of the police and criminal law as had it been anyone else, let alone someone who we trust to care for these kids.
Louise Vella
Sep 1st 2010, 10:39
While ex Judge Caruana Colombo prefers not to comment, the damage done to sexual abuse victims, especially those raped by priests, continues to go unnoticed: the ensuing years of depression, drug addiction, alcoholism, panic attacks, sexual dysfunction, and even mental breakdown and suicide.
The Church is notoriously resistant to the release of any information about the conduct of its clergy. The terrible after effects of child rape seem to leave bishops more or less indifferent.
Any bishop's first job must be to stop and prevent current and future child sex crimes. Every proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting cleric must be exposed and suspended immediately.
New laws are needed in Malta to impose mandatory reporting to civil authorities by institutions of any person suspected of child abuse within the institution. Officials of such organizations or institutions must be prosecuted for covering up cases of sexual abuse of children.
There should be no place in law that gives more protection to sexual predators of children or to any individuals and institutions that enable and protect them, than it gives to victims/survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Karl Consiglio
Sep 1st 2010, 10:33
"With the harshest punishment being dismissal from priesthood"????
N.Lawrence
Sep 1st 2010, 10:21
No comment on when Church probe will reach a conclusion------------
aka, quietly sweep the findings under the carpet while nobody is looking.
Louise Vella
Sep 1st 2010, 09:43
Retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo, chairman of the Curia's Response Team, spent the last 11 years implementing the Church's policy of protecting its reputation by covering up cases of priests accused of sexual abuse of children.
The Vatican's appointment of Mgr Scicluna, during the Pope's visit, showed that things could not go on as before. It showed lack of confidence that the Maltese Church, with its Response Team, could ever satisfy the public's thirst for justice to be done to the victims.
The Pope came and went away. Mgr Scicluna came and presented his report. But the Maltese Church will, as usual, play for time. Retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo has already spent 7 years investigating the case. If he had his way, he could go on for 7 times 7 years.
In the meantime priests go on enjoying their impunity. Victims go on suffering from a sense of injustice. Worst of all, other children will remain vulnerable because parents do not know who the offending priests are. And the Church remains above the law.