Curia gives more figures for child abuse cases

Four Maltese priests were found guilty of the sexual abuse of minors and punished after their case was referred to the Holy See by the Church's response team, the Curia said yesterday.

Their punishment varied from not allowing them to exercise their ministry to limiting their pastoral work so that they could not work with minors and being placed under supervision.

The information came in a statement the Curia said was issued to clarify information it had given last week on child abuse cases.

Last week, a Curia spokesman told The Times that the response team, which was set up in 1999, had since received a total of 84 allegations of child abuse, involving 45 Maltese priests.

Yesterday, the Curia pointed out that some of these cases went back to the 1970s. It said the response team had found a basis for the allegations made against 13 of the 45 cases.

Besides the four found guilty, a tribunal appointed by the Holy See is currently hearing the cases of another three Maltese priests while the cases of another four were recently concluded by the local response team and they were expected to appear before the Holy See.

The other two priests in whose cases the response team found a basis for the allegations have since died.

Of the 45 cases, no basis was found for 19 while another 13 were still pending, the Curia said.

The response team receives reports of abuse from both the Maltese and Gozitan dioceses. Last week, the spokesman would not divulge the nature of the cases or how many priests had been found guilty, saying the response team's work was carried out in confidence.

"The Church takes these cases seriously," the Curia said yesterday, adding that, although criminal cases were time-barred both in civil and Church law, the tribunal processed all allegations of abuse on minors, irrespective of when they happened. All alleged victims were informed that they still had the right to report their case to the civil authorities.

"The Church feels that even one case of abuse is one too many," it said, reiterating the appeal made by Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech last week for Christians to cooperate with the Church rather than disguise facts or remain silent, so that the wound could be healed.

On Thursday, the bishops expressed their "grave sorrow and repentance" towards all those who were sexually abused by the clergy or functionaries of the Church. They admitted this was a moment of humiliation for the entire Church.