With reference to certain questions and comments in regard to the position taken by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca in 2003, when the first allegations of sexual abuse on children at St Joseph’s Home came to light, the Communications Office of the Curia wish to recall a statement issued by Archbishop Mercieca and Archbishop Nikol G. Cauchi, on 8th October 2003.
“Sexual abuse causes much suffering and damage to the victims. The Church condemns in no uncertain terms any form of sexual abuse, especially where children are involved.
The Church confirms that in such incidences of sexual abuse, more so where children are involved, her major concern lies in providing assistance and protecting the victims. At the same time, it is the duty of the Church to bring to mind that even those who make mistakes are people endowed with an inherent dignity.
The Church recognizes that any form of sexual abuse that emanates from within poses a profound contradiction to the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ..
In the light of this, wherever there are cases of sexual abuse, the Church begs forgiveness of the victims for the damage incurred and the suffering which they endure.
It is not the intention of the Church to conceal its cases of abuse. Rather, the Church desires to bring to light the truth with respect to similar incidents so that the necessary steps may be taken in order to put a stop to this abuse. For this reason , the Church in Malta, of its own free will and as a precursor to any other institution in our country, set up a Response Team whose task is to examine every allegation of sexual abuse that is reported. At the same time, in conscience, the victim is at liberty to refer the matter to the police authorities.
The Church fully appreciates that the mass media is attentive to situations of human suffering such as sexual abuses in the case of children. It is also conscious of the the fact that journalists are committed, in all honesty and with a deep sense of responsibility, to make the public aware of these incidents in order to create an awareness and so that action may be taken in order to avoid further abuses of the same kind. Yet the Church cannot refrain from deploring most vehemently those episodes in which some sectors of the social media brush aside all ethical principles in order to create a sensation”.
On the Feast of Christ the King (23 November 2003) Archbishop Mercieca also stated:
“It could well be that this year, among our brothers and sisters in Malta, there are those who are celebrating the Feast of Christ the King half-heartedly or without conviction. We feel that the alleged cases of sexual abuse upon minors by priests or members of religious Orders in childrens’ homes for boys during past years has rocked the foundations of the Church in Malta. Some people are scandalized at the word ‘Church’. Others are saying that it is the Church herself who is leading the people away from God or is the cause of their abandoning the faith.
Sexual abuse on chidlren causes great suffering and grave spiritual damage to the victims. It also sheds a negative light upon the credibility of the Church.
This abuse is to be condemned and abhorred in no uncertain terms. The people of the Church who have performed these dreadful acts of abuse carry upon their shoulders not only the pain they have inflicted upon the victims but also the scandals caused by their behaviour, as well as the damage which is incurred to the Church in its commitment to disseminate the Word of the Gospel. The consequences of their grave sin is great and widespread”.