I want to show my disapproval at the way the Maltese media is treating the Missionary Society of St Paul. Let me state from the outset that I unreservedly condemn the acts of the two people found guilty of sexually abusing boys at St Joseph’s Home, but the way things have turned out, the entire MSSP has been condemned.

Is it necessary for TV news bulletins to show the façade of the home every time reference is made to the case? Is it right for the media to report all the details, no matter how sordid, given in evidence in the case? Is there not a fine line beyond which the limits of good taste are exceeded?

Usually in cases of paedophilia, the media are prohibited from mentioning names. Why wasn’t this done in the cases involving the home? I repeat, I condemn the acts of the people involved, but not the persons themselves, whom I leave to God’s mercy.

I was a boarder at the home in the 1960s, as I was attending St Agatha’s school in Rabat as an MSSP aspirant. We were housed separately from boys belonging to broken families.

We sometimes mixed with them, and we could see with what care the priests treated them. The children were always happy and well taken care of. I can vouch for this as we always returned in the evening from school in Rabat.

It is most unfortunate that these cases of sexual abuse happened, but overall, the society is a great asset to the Maltese Church. St Agatha’s School in Rabat has educated thousands of children, many of whom went on to higher education and today are established doctors, lawyers, MPs, TV presenters, and so on.

I thank the MSSP Fathers publicly for the education I received from them, an education not based on theory only, but where characters are built. Fr Benedict Sant, Fr Daniel Agius, Fr Mangion and Fr Bonavia were people who cared for us well, and this was noticed by our parents on our monthly visit home in Gozo.

MSSP founder Mgr Giuseppe Depiro was the champion of homeless children. He was the director of all the Church institutions in those days. He ran an institute for girls where, besides feeding  and housing them, he even trained them for their future life and how to earn a living.

In 1922 he took over St Joseph’s Home from the Freres, so the MSSP will celebrate its 90th anniversary there next week.

The society has missionaries all over the world. I urge the local media to focus on the splendid work being done by the society in Malta and abroad and not on the deplorable actions of two or three of its members.

I thank the society for the years I spent in their care, and I will never forget them in my prayers. I urge the thousands of students who passed through both St Paul’s Missionary College and St Joseph Home to support these priests who gave them an education and a character.