Sexual abuse by priests

After reading the interview with Fr Charles Cordina on the Maltese Church`s response to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy (April 25), I felt confused and alarmed. I am left wondering if the child abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church in Ireland and the United States have been studied locally because there is nothing in the interview to show that their lessons have been learnt.

I was most perturbed by the revelation that the Church does not report cases to the police even though it admits that the police are better placed to investigate and when it openly states that its investigators do not seek to determine guilt. There is no indication that any experts on child abuse are involved in the commission; so how can the cases be investigated fairly and thoroughly ?

Even when the evidence is so overwhelming that the Church concludes that a criminal act has been committed, the matter is kept secret. I disagree with Fr Cordina that this is an internal matter for the Church. Child sexual abuse is a criminal act and should be investigated and dealt with by the state.

Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Bishops` Conference has recently stated clearly that "the civil authorities are the proper arena where the criminal activity should be judged".

Cardinal Theodore Mc Carrick of Washington has also enunciated several principles to eradicate abuse which includes that the civil authorities must be informed. Why is the Church opposed to this to the extent that it shields criminals from justice?

The assertion that nothing is done to dissuade the complainant from reporting the matter to the police is undermined by a subsequent statement. Fr Cordina tells us that "the judge tells them that is an internal matter, but if you feel you want to take further steps then it is up to you". Psychiatrists recognise this as a classic `double bind` instruction where two contradictory instructions are given and this is characteristic of manipulative relationships.

In effect the victims are told that this is an internal matter and if they want to pursue justice they are on their own. Fr Cordina wants the process to be "fair to all parties" but I have to ask in whose interests is it for these matters to be kept internal? The Church has too much at stake in terms of reputation and liability for financial compensation to be neutral. The UN convention on the rights of the children states that "the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration" and says nothing about the interest of the abuser.

The bland statement that the Church had taken steps against four priests and some had been sent for "rehabilitation" intrigues me. A recent report in the London Times recounts the case of Cardinal Egan of New York who as the Bishop of Bridgeport "declined to report to the police priests who had sexually abused boys, sending them instead to psychiatrists before shuffling them off to another diocese where the abuse resumed". As a psychiatrist I know that treatment of sexual abusers is difficult and often unsuccessful, and nothing in Fr Cordina`s account reassures me that internal action is effective in any way in preventing further abuse.

Finally Fr Cordina wants us to keep a sense of proportion and asks us if we are more interested in targeting abusers than stopping abuse as if the choice was between one and the other. You stop abuse by expelling and exposing the abusers not simply moving them away from their current victims. The Pope has told the US cardinals that child molesters could not expect to remain in the priesthood but Fr Cordina seems to know better.

The Maltese Church should learn from the mistakes of other Churches abroad and not repeat them here. The victims of child abuse by priests and laymen are entitled to investigation of their cases by the police and social services, for the guilty parties to be punished according to the law and if the Church has aggravated abuse by shielding the abuser it should be liable to pay compensation. The current approach suggests the interests of the Church are being put above those of the victims and this shortsighted approach in the long run ends up harming the Church even more; but most of all it compounds the injury done to the victims. It is time for a change.