The Curia has not yet responded to criticism levelled towards it by the Vatican's chief prosecutor, Mgr Charles Scicluna, on the way it handled the clerical sex abuse cases.

Mgr Scicluna accused the Response Team of dragging its feet and also said that the Curia would do well to create a Victim Solidarity Fund. ( His comments were made to The Sunday Times. (See http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110807/local/Vatican-official-intervened-to-speed-up-sex-abuse-probe.379055 ) 

Apart from the statement issued last week in which Archbishop Paul Cremona asked forgiveness for the suffering endured by the victims at the hands of priests and in which he expressed regret at the long time it took for the Response Team to investigate the matter, the Curia has remained mum on a number of issues.

timesofmalta.com this morning attempted to speak to Archbishop Paul Cremona but the journalist was informed that he was at a meeting and could not talk to us. He directed us to the Curia's public relations officer instead.

However, questions sent to the Curia over the past few days have been ignored. The questions included whether the position of retired Judge Victor Caruana Colombo was still tenable after the court judgement showed that in 2003 the Response Team had summarily acquitted Carmelo Pulis after he was caught by a care worker in a compromising position with a 15-year-old boy.

The Response Team had told (then Fr) Pulis, who at the time was the housekeeper at St Joseph Home, to "continue looking after the children like an honest parent". Just weeks after this decision, Mr Pulis and two other priests – Fr Godwin Scerri and Bro. Joseph Bonett – were investigated by the police and charged in court with sexual abuse of minors in their care, including the case that the Response Team dismissed.

The Response Team then initiated a second investigation and seven years later said the accusations were "founded".