Editorial
Amputate to heal
Earlier this year the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse cases involving priests, Mgr Charles Scicluna, who has earned credit for his aggressive approach to the problem, said the Church “may have to amputate to heal”.
The Maltese priest, who is Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, was referring to the need for the Church to sever ties if one of its members was an “occasion of sin”. However, a case could be made in the local context for his words to extend beyond that.
It was with a measure of foresight that the dioceses of Malta and Gozo set up what they termed a Response Team a little more than 10 years ago, since few, if any, similar structures existed within the wider Church at the time.
This body was tasked with investigating claims of abuse by hearing testimony from the complainant(s), any witnesses, as well as the alleged offender(s). Its role was then to make a finding according to the evidence and pass this on to the bishop, who would then decide (and later be compelled by the Church) whether to report the matter to the Vatican.
Controversially, this Response Team did not and does not pass on any evidence to the police but instead informs complainants that they may exercise their right to file a report with the authorities in addition to any proceedings taking place within the Church. The pros and cons of this approach have been discussed at some length and it is not the object of this leader to go into them.
What we would like to go into is the best known case in Malta, which involves several men who alleged in 2003 that they had been abused as boys by priests who ran an orphanage in St Venera. Quite correctly, the Response Team took up the issue and the men also reported the alleged incidents to the police.
While it is understandable that dealing with a case of this nature takes some time, the fact that seven years have passed and the Response Team has still not come to any conclusion is wholly unacceptable.
Not just to us and the public, but also, it seems, to the Vatican. In what can only be considered as a vote of no confidence in the workings of the Response Team, Mgr Scicluna himself met the alleged victims of sexual abuse after last April’s visit by the Pope to gain “direct” information which would “supplement” the work that had been carried out in Malta. He completed his task in a matter of weeks.
Presumably to save the little face that remained, Mgr Scicluna also stressed that the Archdiocese of Malta was still “mainly responsible” for the investigation before submitting its findings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith – effectively Mgr Scicluna himself, who has been carrying out his own investigation.
As the months pass, the Response Team, which operates under a shroud of secrecy, has made it clear that it will not make its findings public. But, worse than that, when contacted by The Times last week, its head, retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo, refused even to state when the investigation will be concluded. This, after seven long and painful years.
Enough is enough. If the Response Team is ever to regain any credibility, the personnel running it must be replaced. As Mgr Scicluna himself said, sometimes it is necessary to amputate to heal. There is little alternative in this case.
13 Comments
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Joseph Calleja
Sep 5th 2010, 17:52
How many times do we have to hear the same old story. The Curia Hiding Team is still investigating. Investigate What? For seven years they knew there are at least 8 abused kids by three pedophile priests. As far as we know these abused kids gave all the testimony, to His Holiness the Pope and to Mgr Scicluna and the Bishop of Malta and of course The Curia Hiding Team who is making more excuses not to come to any conclusion. So far the Pope washed his hands and sent Mgr Scicluna to take charge and now Mgr Scicluna dumps everything back on the Curia Hiding Team. What is going on? I am starting to believe that the church in Malta is immune from any civil law, even when it comes to abusing kids. Is that why we have Article 2 in the constitution? If this is the case then the church in Malta is above the law. But then on the other hand we are a part of the EU and I do believe that the EU laws supersede any local law. Maybe the Curia Hiding Team is waiting for the EU to take this case off their hands.
Joseph Seisun
Sep 5th 2010, 13:27
Thank you for this editorial. It is of most importance that this story is not let to be pushed under the mat. The facts must be brought out for everyone to see. If there where wrong doings, then society expects justice to be seen to be done.
If we are truly living in a democracy, then the courts of justice should be there for everyone, including priests. Priests, in a true democracy, are not above the law!
JOe VELLa
Sep 5th 2010, 14:51
Joseph, what story are you writing about? what facts do you want to know that has not been divulged? What facts needs justice to be seen to be done?
This drama has been REPORTED over and over and over in the press!
The Church that mean true Christians asked for Pardon for what happened. Maybe you are one of those that go for amputation. If that is so take off your mask and identify yourself,.
I guess you also want to know what goes on behind closed doors in the Prim Minister's office or the Opposition Office they too are the people.
What good is coming out of it by hurting the Church?
Joseph Seisun
Sep 5th 2010, 16:53
@ JOe VELLa Asking for pardon is the right thing to do, but, justice still has to be done. What if it were your child that got sexually abused by a priest ? Would you still be taking the way you are? What mask are you referring to? Yours probably! Just because men wear a priest's cloth, it does not give them the right to abuse innocent children and get away with it. Do you think that you are protecting the Church by your reasoning? 7 years have already passed, Mr. VELLa!! And by the way, the term 'amputate' was used by Mgr. Charles Scicluna himself. Did you read the editorial before commenting or was it to embarrassing for you?
JOe VELLa
Sep 5th 2010, 17:34
Dear Joseph Thank you for posting your reply, strangely enough in your second mail you answered all your questions that you wanted to know. The only one left that neither of us can answer is the issue of the relevance of justice. You want justice to be seen, and downsize priests, I prefer to leave it to the authority to handle it after all they are the involved party in this case. Reference to my mask, my friend, I am an old man and not a frequent church goer. Still it is not fair to read repeated questions that have been repeatedly asked and repeatedly answered for the last 7 years. Some do so for ulterior motive such as being a Maltese cardinal in another Church! for example. As the Good Lord said, he who is clean throw the first stone.
MSciberras
Sep 5th 2010, 12:33
QUOTE Controversially, this Response Team did not and does not pass on any evidence to the police but instead informs complainants that they may exercise their right to file a report with the authorities in addition to any proceedings taking place within the Church. The pros and cons of this approach have been discussed at some length and it is not the object of this leader to go into them UNQUOTE
Yet this is the core issue. If crimes have been committed the Church is duty bound to pass on details to the police. They are the legal and authority and no one else. There is nothing controversial here, it is clearly and directly in contravention of the law if the Church does not do so. That is why, 2 months ago in Belgium, the police raided the offices of a similar commission there, arresting the members temporarily to ensure no files were removed. Surely our focus should be on the outcome of the separate police investigations that have been going for years. Are the police waiting for the output of a commission that has already declared it will not pass its findings to the police? This charade must end.
Louise Vella
Sep 5th 2010, 12:13
The Curia chose its Response Team deliberately among persons close to the Church who could be trusted not to cause waves - not even ripples - to the way the Church has always done its things. When I appeared as a witness, the Response Team was chaired by retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo and the other person was Mgr Mario Grech, the future bishop of Gozo.
When you choose such persons to reach a judgement, you deliberately put the interests of priests (be they child molesters) before the interests of children. The bishop of Gozo has become well known thanks to his utterings. As for retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo, who is now close to 80 years of age, cannot be expected to change his way of thinking and doing.
William P Flynn
Sep 5th 2010, 11:32
PUBLIC NOTICE:
This is to inform the public that as a result of delay after delay in amputating the offending parts after many high level consultations, the patient has succumbed to gangrene and died.
Arrangements for a suitable funeral will be made and announced in due course. While every hope for resurrection continues, with the customary 3 day resurrection period extended indefinitely, the chances for a comeback appear to be grim to impossible.
Meantime everyone is invited to the wake.
g.portelli
Sep 5th 2010, 11:24
Reason should guide faith in the name of social justice. It will increasingly be perceived as procrastinating intransigence otherwise. How will that benefit the common good honestly?
Louise Vella
Sep 5th 2010, 11:17
The fact is that the abuse of children is the most hidden crime of all, and it takes great integrity and courage to surface these things. Abusers have many allies, some unwitting, some very willing. Those prepared to defend children have often been hard to find. Sadly, children make perfect victims. They are smaller and weaker than their abusers. They are easily intimidated by rapists and others who assault them. The most powerful myth and the most regularly used, was that children lie. Adults, it was presumed, always told the truth.
Too often, sexually-abusive priests survived in the church while their colleagues and superiors looked the other way. The indifference or negligence of these colleagues and superiors encouraged the offenders to continue offending and raping children. Undeniably, by its silence and cover-ups the Church allowed the evil to continue and flourish.
The Catholic Church who claims to be the citadel of truth and righteousness should really be guiding and teaching the world how to shield and protect children from sexual abuse. In reality the Church has so far set a shocking example by covering-up for priest child rapists for years.
edward bartolo
Sep 5th 2010, 11:48
For some people, whatever the church does, is never enough! What can the church do to heal itself, according to your infallible wisdom, dismantle itself?!
This forum pretty well knows your ill feelings when the church is involved!
JOe VELLa
Sep 5th 2010, 12:47
Your editorial is as interesting and respectable as always. Thanks
What I find disturbing is that a certain report after 7 years has not been finalized, and therefore justice placed on the back burner. Having said that, it has been an ordeal for all concerned that not a week passed over this time spam, that this issued did not come up in the papers.
It is a good thing to report the weakness of a few within a group or church, but at the expense of the whole community it is not fair.
Louise Vella
Sep 5th 2010, 09:35
Excellent editorial. Whatever the theoretical task of the Curia's Response Team, chaired by retired judge Victor Caruana Colombo, in practice it turned out to be an in-house justice meted out by persons who were more interested in covering up scandals to protect the
Church's reputation than in anything else. One of its ways is to drag cases over years in the hope the victims will give up and witnesses will forget details. By protecting the reputation of priest child rapists, the Curia's Response Team allowed them to remain in the community and free to carry on their criminal activities to the detriment of innocent children.
It was only thanks to the Pope's visit that this state of affairs, which has been well known for years, came to the front of public awareness. The Vatican has given the Curia's Response Team a vote of no confidence, but they seem too stuck in their anachronistic mind-set to draw the logical conclusion of this.