Gozo diocese weighing 'further steps' over priest’s role in rape case
Diocese breaks silence, says it is 'analysing' all information
The Gozo diocese is gathering information to decide on possible action after a priest brokered a €7,000 deal for a 14-year-old girl to drop a rape claim, it said on Tuesday afternoon.
In its first public comments on the case, the diocese said it “understands that such cases raise legitimate questions among the public”.
The diocese said that “as soon as it became aware of the content of the court judgment, it began to gather and analyse all possible information and take the necessary professional advice to determine the possibility of further steps”.
In a separate statement, the Gozo diocese safeguarding commission said it had never received any reports linked to the case.
“The recent media report alleging that a priest assisted in the withdrawal of an accusation in a criminal case was never reported to the Commission,” it said in a statement.
“The Commission is monitoring this case and actively ensuring that all safeguarding principles will be upheld,” it added, insisting it “has diligently handled all cases reported and referred them to the competent civil authorities” ever since it was set up in 2022.
The commission said it “remains fully committed to fostering a culture of accountability, safeguarding, and care within the community”.
On Sunday, Times of Malta reported on the silence of the Gozo diocese after a court judgment revealed that Gozitan priest Fr Michael Said had acted as an intermediary in a 2008 payment to a Nadur family.
Fr Said brokered the deal, which saw the family paid €7,000 in exchange for dropping their claim that several men, including the brothers of Nationalist MP Chris Said, had raped their 14-year-old daughter.
Then Gozo Bishop Mario Grech later told Times of Malta he only became aware of Fr Said’s involvement in the case on Sunday.
Maltese Church authorities first set up structures to investigate safeguarding concerns against Church personnel in 1999, with cases in both Malta and Gozo initially falling under a single umbrella.
In 2022, the Gozo diocese set up its own safeguarding commission to handle complaints of sexual abuse in Gozo.
Nevertheless, both Maltese and Gozitan ecclesiastical authorities follow the same safeguarding policies, which were most recently updated in 2024.
The policy says that “Church personnel aware of a minor being at risk of harm are obliged to report the matter to the Police or the Child Protection Directorate”.