A section of the Maltese press went to town the other week with reports on the alleged sexual misadventures of a Dominican friar accused of abusing of a woman who was in a vulnerable situation. Many lurid details were exposed for all to see, although I understand that the newspaper that published excerpts from the woman’s sworn statement actually left out certain parts because of their explicit nature.

There are many interesting observations one can make from this episode.

First and foremost is the role of the free press in all this. When The Sunday Times of Malta broke the story two weeks ago by reporting that the case had ended in the courts – and it was therefore in the public domain – it refrained from mentioning the name of the renowned Dominican concerned. I’m sure that this was a conscious decision on the part of the paper. A few days later, another newspaper decided to publish the name, and the floodgates were opened.

The decision to publish the name was also a conscious one: it defied the traditional omertá that the press used to observe in connection with such stories, even though there were no such qualms recently in the reporting of the court case concerning the abuse of young boys in a Church institute.

This, of course, indicates that the Church and the members of the priesthood no longer enjoy the privilege of being above the scrutiny of the media.

What is interesting is that the media directly associated with the two main political parties adopted a very conservative approach, reporting the story with much less gusto and enthusiasm than the independent press.

The low level of importance given to the story by il-mument and it-Torċa last Sunday cannot be just a coincidence. This is food for thought, of course.

Does it indicate that Malta’s most important institutions, the two main political parties and the Church, prefer to live cosily together rather than endanger the survival of each other’s influence on society? In other words, is there today a symbiotic relationship that has developed between Malta’s politicians and its Church?

If this reading is correct, this country has unknowingly experienced a historical ‘compromesso storico’ whose importance goes much beyond the alleged sexual peccadilloes of a Dominican friar.

The lack of response by the Church’s response team has been described as unacceptable and scandalous. It is much worse

As to the story, I dare not judge. Consensual sex between adults is a private affair, even if one of the parties is sworn to celibacy.

The accusation subject to the State’s judicial system stems from the allegation that the friar abused of a woman who was in a vulnerable state; which implies that the sexual relationship was not really consensual. This seems to be the sticky point about the case. For all I know, the woman is simply proving the dictum that ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’. Someone is lying, of course. It is the job of the courts to find the truth on the matter.

Where does this leave the Maltese Church?

In tatters, I am afraid.

The lack of response by the Church’s response team – that has not reached a conclusion after eight years since it became aware of the case – has been described as unacceptable and scandalous. It is much worse.

The response team was set up to enable the Church to investigate cases of sexual abuse by members of the clergy or religious orders.

When these cases involve consensual adults and there is no breach of criminal law, they are simply the Church’s in-house business. Yet, the way the response team seems to have dragged its feet on this occasion has proved the team to be the weapon with which the Maltese Church has attempted hara-kiri! The decision of the Dominican authorities to suspend the accused only after the story surfaced in the media, and not as soon as they became aware of it, makes a mockery of the seriousness with which the order runs its internal business.

The fact that the incumbent, the accused and the Archbishop Emeritus, Paul Cremona, have occupied the top post in the Maltese Dominican order during various times gives the impression that the running of the order is some game of musical chairs.

The great imposing façade that the Maltese Church has always presented to the Maltese people has cracked and is beyond repair.

No amount of sellotape can cover up the cracks, and the façade has practically collapsed.

One hopes that behind the ruins of this fake façade there is actually something of substance.

Otherwise, this small nation risks losing the moral compass that guides the great majority of its people… except for a small number of individuals.

In spite of the silly foibles on sex that obsess the Maltese Catholic Church and the incredibly dishonest methods prevalent in its internal politics, the sudden loss of its influence would leave a moral vacuum that is just what this country does not need.

The public interest in this episode will wane when the court case is over, but its effects on the Maltese Church will continue to be felt for a very long time.

micfal@maltanet.net