The Church’s handling of the alleged abuses by Dominican priest Fr Charles Fenech was criticised today by former Curia official Fr Joe Borg.
Writing in The Sunday Times if Malta, he said public outcry following the reporting of yet another story of this kind was understandable.
“What is not understandable is how the Dominican Order – while fully respecting his presumption of innocence – deemed fit to relieve him of his duties only because now the allegations have become public.
“One of the two Response Teams of the Church has been investigating such allegations for the past eight years.
“This is totally unacceptable, nay it is simply scandalous. Such protraction by the Response Team is unfair to the accused, to the alleged victim and to the Church. The Response Team responsible for such delays is perpetrating great injustice to all concerned.”
The incidents are alleged to have taken place at various locations over a period of years. The priest is also being accused of holding the woman against her will and committing indecent acts in public.
The police are also investigating claims of sexual abuse against the priest made by other women. His defence lawyers have insisted the priest is denying all the allegations.
More in The Sunday Times of Malta.
CURIA SAYS CHURCH WAS AWAITING RESPONSE TEAM DECISION BEFORE ACTING
Meanwhile, the Curia said today that when Bishop Charles Scicluna expressed his shock on Xarabank at learning about the case through the media, he was referring to the criminal case filed before the courts and the fact that the priest had not appeared in court on three occasions.
"Since the matter was being investigated by the (Church) Response Team, there could be no doubt that the Church authorities, including Bishop Scicluna, knew about the allegation, but they had to wait for the outcome of the Response Team investigation before taking any action. During Xarabank, the Bishop himself referred to this investigation and described its delay as unacceptable," the Curia said.
It added that Mgr Scicluna emphasised that hiding such cases was shameful and he appealed to all those who had any information to report it to the relevant authorities.
"As prosecutor for the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Bishop Scicluna had spent more than a decade fighting all forms of sexual abuse. He is determined to do the same in Malta," the Curia said.