Waylon Johnston
Attorney General appeals rape acquittal
The Attorney General has filed an appeal against the decision of the Magistrates’ Court to acquit a priest of rape because of an error in the charge sheet.
The mistake emerged during the proceedings, which were held behind closed doors, when the victim testified that he had been raped at the St Joseph Home in Ħamrun when the charge indicated the location of the crime as having been Marfa.
The mistake led Magistrate Saviour Demicoli to acquit one of the priests, Fr Francesco, also known as Godwin Scerri, of rape, even though he found the victim’s evidence credible. Had Fr Scerri been found guilty of rape he would have faced a maximum of nine years in jail.
Fr Scerri together with Carmel Pulis (since defrocked) were sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison for defiling teenagers in their care. They have both appealed the judgment, attacking the victims’ credibility.
In his own appeal, the Attorney General focused on the “the court’s decision to consider a precise indication of the place where the alleged crime took place as essential for the consideration of finding guilt or otherwise on a specific charge”.
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Mr Jay Oatmon
Aug 20th 2011, 21:53
While it may be considered as complaining about the appaling state of Malta's courts legal system - the fact is it is the squeaky wheel which gets the oil.
In other words if no one complains nothing gets done, and obviously there are very serious delay, and legal loophole problems, with the way justice and the courts operate in Malta.
charles tabone
Aug 20th 2011, 19:42
Dear AG
Rape is rape wherever it had happened. The victim has to carry the trauma for a lifetime. A mistake in the bill of indictment merited a correction which, I believe, wouldn't have been a blatant mistake, considering that at this stage you are appealing.
Pule' Carmel
Aug 20th 2011, 14:51
Throughout my three score and over ten years, influenced by Maltese Education, I had experiences of activites which did not look right to me and yet were kept silent in my community. For example, listening to political speeches at the Vittoriosa Square, I never heard one politician from any political side telling me, " Carmel Pule' go and tell your brothers and sisters that you can go to University like we did" for most of the politicians' families at Cottonera including Domnic Mintoff had attended University. Come to think of it, I felt like a little slave devoid of information.
On looking at the behaviour of the Church over the last millenium, I am absolutely surprised that I never see the church defending Slavery throughout Europe, where many European catholics went over to Africa disrupting families and treating slaves as slaves are treated. Acccording to Mark Twain, the American writer, some Catholics even found the solution for a good reason for slavery in the Bible pages saying that there is a reason for these people being slaves. I like Mark Twain but he does go too far against the Catholic Church as we are seeing lately, as people are doing now in Malta.
Also through out history, I noted that it is not the Church that change people but it is the few rational people on earth that start the ball rolling where most people follow and, eventually , and lastly the Church has to adjust to the will of the people, it takes time, but eventually, for its own existance the church does adjust its regulations to stay alive, just delaying her tactics not to appear too revolutionary, This lack of opposition towards slavery though the European and American History does interest me, as the fact that the Church always aimed to side with political powers robbed her of her clear vision to lead society without losing any of its financial power and its political influence.
I suppose we are all humans and to mention what Bishop Grech said in the Lehen is -Sewwa this week, he implied that a too simple life regulated by an unknown God would make a better society but I personally do not think so because man must advance on his own steam and search for more factual understandings. On the other Hand reading the First page of Il Lehen is Sewwa this week where the Prime minister of England David Cameron referred to the collapse of the Morals in the British society, becaue some Modern British youths thought that they could be free from an old fashioned Religion, I think freedom to these youths came too early without them being able to use seculatr freedom in which I do believe that a rule of conduct would still result in a moral and ethical society.
But the church must take up the policy that when internal and external wrongs take place outside or inside the church, she must speak out immediately and not delay its own voice and not to wait a long time and echo with delay what the public says as occured in the case of Child and any Slavery and abuse of Children. The churc hdoes a lot of good but some members in the church still like the pomp and governments and authority that in essence contains Glory. When this Glory is effected the Church had a habit of remaining silent. The Church still had an imortant role to play , for if it lets go too much, as David Cameron concluded , many youths in many countries will follow the Lack of Morals in Britain whose youths have a habit of stabbing each other very often and look for excitmet not in religious celebrations, but in looting and theiving and such primitive behaviour which is slightly related to a loss of security previously found in "religions" As yet we cannot do without religions but I will not go as far as the German Kardinal Von Faulhaber who told Albert Einstein, that " if ever , through mathematical operators, Mathematicians like you, ever concluded that God did not exist, then the mathemticians would not rest till you look through your operations to find that your working contains some mistake!"
I suppose it is no harm for the church to look at its past and locate its mistakes and to correct them, I do not think there isany reason for apologies for I believe otherwise. A true gentleman never needs to aplogise. and another one for everybody to think about including priests and laymen, " A true gentleman never offends unintentially" So let us all learn to be true gentle men, not though the fear of God or the fear of the Court of Law in a secular state but becaues we do truly do love each other. Please do not misinterpret my Love, as these days I would not dare say, " I am so gay today" and that is the trouble with the world to day, I am not free to live the purity of vocabulary that I lived when I was much younger, but I have to air my opinion in a limites vocabulary that does restrain our own thinking.
Incidentally the sermons from the pulpit in my opinion come into a class within the experssion," The limit of our vocabulary, is the limit of out thinking" and I do understand where our youths want to go , but the vocabulary and repeated words seem to restrict their thinking. I hope that is quite clear as it is quite deep in itself to recognise that it is the limits of our vocabulary which limits our thinking. I do read Il Lehen is Sewwa weekly, but it vocabulary does limits thinking outside the box. I livedoutside the box all my life and I am glad I lived in Modern times as even the Church respect my opinion, but I felt free to say what I have to say and not like Mark Twain or other Scientists who willed it that what they wrote must be published 100 years from now as the Chrich would not tollerate some scientific or different thinking as our vocabulary is richened outside that preached fro a Pulpit.
Pule' Carmel
Aug 20th 2011, 16:16
May I add the numerous witches that were burnt at the stake by an intolerant Church. Yes mistakes were made through ignorance and absolute power. I personally would like to thank all those menbers of my church who are willing to hear other version. Some years ago a colleague of mine suggested that we ENGINEERS are not as vociferous as Lawyers and Religious and political people and all I saidwas to put it to the test by asking me to talk on any subject and I, without preparation would have a go at describing what I thought about it . He chose Religion for me to talk about. This person was the type who was an ardent supporter of San Lawrenz tal Birgu intgerested fil Marci ukoll ic-cikcifogu u bandalori w kemm hi sabieha li storja tal knisja tal Birgu. Hardly had I started in describing my convictions about the relations between science and religion and evolution and creation.
Just as I started and to cover what in my opinion were scientific facts which religion does accept but he did not ,he simple accused me " Carmel you are an atheist!"
So I proceeded to talk to the limits of my thoughts but not his and oh how I wished this man would roam out of the influence of the repeated sermons from the pulpit to increase his vocabulary to increase the limit of his own thinking and so he would not accuse me of being an atheist. I am not an athesit, I like to think that I am a free thinker and enjoy entering and reversing out many corners that our universe provides me with.
Joe Brincat-LL.D
Aug 20th 2011, 14:09
Dear Editor, I have examined the original judgment in Maltese. There is no statement by the Magistrate that
even though he found the victim’s evidence credible. The Magistrate believed him on other points but did not make any such assertion regarding the charge of rape. Nor did he resolve the conflict from other independent evidence, as he did with the same witness about his age.
david debattista
Apr 23rd, 20:42
Look Dr Brincat , with all due respect , the bottom line is this , A boy was raped and the rapist got away with it ........ END OF STORY !
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 11:25
The next time a secular child rapist is allowed to be tried for his/her crimes of child rape by a secret court speaking and writing its proceedings and findings in a foreign language and submitted to the theocratic dictator ((the pope) of a foreign state (the Vatican) for adjudication and final say, I'd say many would bombard this paper withl indignant and caustic comments.
Especially if this is done with the full knowledge of the police department, the attorney general and our parliamentarians as they shrug their shoulders and look the other way...as they do with rape allegations involving priests.
And that is the difference between the criticism of child rapists of the priestly type and the secular type.
But I should not expect the usual cut-and-paste or any other type of apologist to get it.
Mr Jo Camm
Aug 20th 2011, 11:22
I do not know why Mr Flynn has become so much against the Catholic Church, starting from the Pope, the Vatican and any priest.
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 12:26
That's alright Jo Camm. There's nothing to know really. The deceit and disgust is there for all to see.
Google Cloyne Report Ireland and the apply the same yardstick and see what you get.
Mr Edward Camilleri
Aug 20th 2011, 13:24
@Mr Jo Camm and others sympathising with the Catholic Church
I would say, because of what some members of the church have done for a long time, and protected again for a long time by other members of the same church, makes the whole story disgusting to say the least!
CNN estimates that there are 5% pheodophile priests. Not a small number! But to make matters worse there must be a larger number covering up for these priests, otherwise the balloon would not have gone so big before exploding.
Joseph Vassallo
Aug 20th 2011, 21:17
@Mr Edward Camilleri:
So because CNN asserts that 5% of priest are pederasts, it has to be true and can't be different? How about 10%, for example? And if it can vary by 5% in one direction, why can't it also vary 5% in the other and be zero point something percent?
Your assertions are unsubstantiated and can only be seen as imaginary or fabricated.
I'll bet an Irish pound to a pound of Chinese excrement that you haven't gone to the trouble of reading the sentence in full and are relying on headlines and blogs for your information.
@ Mr Flynn: Have YOU read the sentence? It is in Maltese, so is it conceivable that an Irishman (assuming you are) has meticulously translated a 117-page legal document from Maltese (with lashings of Latin and Italian thrown in), and is expressing on his opinions of what it contains? I haven't seen any references in your many posts. But maybe I am mistaken and didn't look hard enough.
Before you start harping on about church supporters or apologists, let me tell you that I haven't been to church since my teens and that was a while ago because I'm even drawing a pension. But I have witnessed at close quarters the quality of education that is dispensed by clerics and they beat laity hands down. In fact, even church school standards are going down now because they are employing more laity than ever. I remember when it was exceptional to have a teacher who was not a priest in my day and you had better believe that there was no 5% among them who were pederasts.
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 10:59
The next time a secular child rapist is allowed to be tried for his/her crimes of child rape by a secret court speaking and writing its proceedings and findings in a foreign language and submitted to the theocratic dictator ((the pope) of a foreign state (the Vatican) for adjudication and final say, I'd say many would bombard this paper withl indignant and caustic comments.
Especially if this is done with the full knowledge of the police department, the attorney general and our parliamentarians as they shrug their shoulders and look the other way...as they do with rape allegations involving priests.
And that is the difference between the criticism of child rapists of the priestly type and the secular type.
But I should not expect the usual cut-and-paste or any other type of apologist to get it.
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 10:38
The next time a secular child rapist is allowed to be tried for his/her crimes of child rape by a secret court speaking and writing its proceedings and findings in a foreign language and submitted to the theocratic dictator ((the pope) of a foreign state (the Vatican) for adjudication and final say, I'd say many would bombard this paper withl indignant and caustic comments.
Especially if this is done with the full knowledge of the police department, the attorney general and our parliamentarians as they shrug their shoulders and look the other way...as they do with rape allegations involving priests.
And that is the difference between the criticism of child rapists of the priestly type and the secular type.
But I should not expect the usual cut-and-paste or any other type of apologist to get it.
Mr David Buttigieg
Aug 20th 2011, 11:08
Mr William Flynn,
May I ask you where, but where in this case was
1. a child rapist tried by a secret court (what on earth is that?),
2. "speaking and writing its proceedings and findings in a foreign language" (proceedings were in Maltese!),
3. "and submitted to the theocratic dictator ((the pope) of a foreign state (the Vatican) for adjudication and final say," The pope is elected and has no legal power anywhere except for those who choose to accept it. AND had no say in the legal case against the priests.
Also, the Maltese magistrate, i.e. Maltese law had the final say.
Where do you get these strange ideas of yours from?
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 12:21
Mr Buttigieg
Haven't you been following this saga? I'm sure you have.
The report sent to the pope by the secret court of the Maltese Curia would not have been in Maltes as weven the ATM's at the Vatican are in Latin.
Only the two cases out of scores of cases have been adjudicated by a secular judge...even though Ratzinger declared to the world that all priestl child rape accusations are to be reported to police.
As I indicated I don't expect apologists to see the obvious as they use a brain pickled in religion as a benchmark.
The pope will decide the fate of all the faceless nameless priests aginst whom "founded"lcomplaints have been made. The pope is a dictator to all bishops and Maltese bishops are allowed to conduct their own courts with immunity in Malta. Reprehensible.
Mr David Buttigieg
Aug 20th 2011, 17:32
Mr Flynn,
I believe it's you who is not following the case.
This case was tried entirely in court and not the curia, or anywhere else!
Of the sores of other cases you apparently know about, may I suggest you report them to the police?
"As I indicated I don't expect apologists to see the obvious as they use a brain pickled in religion as a benchmark. "
You certainly will never make it as a detective:)
As a born and bred atheist I certainly am no church apologist, but facts are facts and trying to invent them, as you did, certainly doesn't help the victims.
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 10:31
The next time a secular child rapist is allowed to be tried for his/her crimes of child rape by a secret court speaking and writing its proceedings and findings in a foreign language and submitted to the theocratic dictator ((the pope) of a foreign state (the Vatican) for adjudication and final say, I'd say many would bombard this paper withl indignant and caustic comments.
Especially if this is done with the full knowledge of the police department, the attorney general and our parliamentarians as they shrug their shoulders and look the other way...as they do with rape allegations involving priests.
And that is the difference between the criticism of child rapists of the priestly type and the secular type.
But I should not expect the usual cut-and-paste or any other type of apologist to get it.
Francis Sammut
Aug 20th 2011, 11:05
Well said Mr. Flynn!
Frans Sammut
Gerry Cowie
Aug 20th 2011, 09:49
I wonder whether those with a bias against the Catholic Church should even be commenting here? Perhaps they should be held down and made to acknowledge that abuse is rife throughout secular society on a far greater basis. However since it is the sole objective of some to demonise the Church and often mock the religious beliefs and practices of the majority of the Maltese people, one can be sure that the obvious will be overlooked!
Rape by anybody is wrong - not just priests, not just especially priests! Why don't people attack the appalling abuse withing secular society and families? Because it just does not suit those with an anti-Catholic bias - and indeed an unexplained anti-Catholic bias!
Francis Sammut
Aug 20th 2011, 11:51
Mr. G. Cowie you are right when you say we should acknowlege (even more) that abuse is rife throughout secular society. But that doesn't remove the fact that a priest is a minister of God and as such we must (they must, the priests) see and acknowlege their great responsability which they carry. For me those who put the layman in the same cathegory with the man of the cloth is doing a great disservice and is not being objective. For those who argue that a priest is like any other man I beg to differ and I give an example: Let's say for the sake of the argument that the Commissioner of Police is caught, in the middle of the night stealing from an outlet. He is duly processed and found guilty and inprisoned. Do we then argue that he is like any other man and that we shouldn't be hard on him or we should throw the book at him and the hand of the law should fall on him like a ton of bricks? I rest my case.
Frans Sammut
Mr Patrick Zammit
Aug 20th 2011, 09:20
Wasn't the AG saying that the "mistake" was not corrected during the procedures because there was the possibility of the whole case collapsing by being declared time-barred.
What has happened now? Did we go back in time and therefore, the risk of the case being declared time barred is now nonexistent?
If the AG's first concerns are real, isn't there the possibility of the Appeals Court declaring that the whole case is now time barred and so the first sentence being null and void?
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 09:11
There should be no time-barring of crimes of child rape and secret courts employing religious procedures and anyone associated with, setting up and participating in an official capacity ishould be impeached for corrupting and perverting the course of justice.
William Flynn
Aug 20th 2011, 08:58
Unless this is some convoluted plan to destroy the case against the child rapist priests as Judge Demicoli had claimed, this is an uptick for the Attorney General....who should follow this up and subpoena all church secret documents dealing with the alleged/reported child rape accusations against scores of priests.
Thes cases can then be processed by the secular legal process and secular deectives trained to get to the root of this blight upon our nation that is fast earning the reputation with US, Canadian and Australian polloce as a haven for fugitive child rapist priests.
This will show all citizens that no one is above the law and the law shall protect children fromm all rape including and especially rape by priests.
Mr Paul Barrett
Aug 20th 2011, 08:41
Rather than appeal the Magistrates decision, would it not be easier and cleaner to file a new charge of rape against the accused with the correct details. It would not be a matter of being tried twice for the same charge as the location of the rape is different and therefore this is a different rape to which the accused was previously found not guilty.
The only snag to the above is that the case may be deemed time barred should it have to stand on it's own without the other cases to support a continuous series of events.