A Gozitan priest charged with defiling three girls has been banned by both the civil and Church authorities from contact with minors, Times of Malta has learnt.
The priest, who served as a religion teacher at a boys’ secondary school in Malta, was barred from entering classrooms until the court proceedings were over, an Education Ministry spokesman said.
I have a duty towards all priests, even those who make mistakes
Sources pointed out that the crimes the priest was accused of were allegedly perpetrated in Gozo and were unrelated to his work at the school.
The priest had worked at the school for a number of years before being transferred back to Gozo a few years ago but then returned to the Malta school again.
Church sources said the priest’s pastoral activities were stopped the moment the case was referred to the police.
It is understood the priest was told not to hear confession and barred from getting involved in pastoral activities that could involve children. The priest had been active within a Christian organisation and was also involved in the scout movement at some stage.
The chief scout, Arthur Azzopardi, said the priest stopped being involved with the scouts at any level three years ago and at no stage did the police ask any official of the movement for information.
Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said he followed all civil and Canon law protocols in this case and would do so in other cases.
Sources said that, according to protocol, any case of abuse brought to the Church’s attention would immediately be referred to the police and the Curia Response Team, which investigates abuse cases by the clergy.
The protocol also lists a number of internal precautionary measures that a bishop could take pending criminal proceedings.
When contacted, Judge Victor Caruana Colombo, who heads the response team, would not confirm whether the latest case was referred for investigation.
“I am bound by professional secrecy and I cannot even confirm whether a case is being investigated or not,” he said.
The Gozo Bishop’s statement noted that cases of sexual abuse of minors “deeply hurt the Church and society”.
“As a pastor, I am close to the alleged victims and their families. I have a duty towards all priests, even those who make mistakes, and towards God’s people, particularly minors,” he said.
The priest was granted bail by Magistrate Paul Coppini who also banned publication of his particulars apart from ordering the case to be heard behind closed doors.
Sources said the prosecution was planning to appeal the court decision to grant bail (the conditions of bail are not known).
One of the grounds for appeal could be linked to the fact that the alleged victims had not yet testified. Sources said it was normal in sexual offence cases for bail to be denied until the victims testified.