Church commission denies wrongdoing in dismissal of Gozitan paedophile priest

The Maltese Church’s Safeguarding Commission has told MaltaToday that a Gozitan priest accused of abusing minors was defrocked by the Vatican in 2013 and the decision was reconfirmed earlier this year. 

This came after the Gozo curia’s statement which said the priest, Dominic Camilleri, was informed of his dismissal in March of this year. 

But despite the Vatican’s orders, this newspaper is informed that before MaltaToday’s revelations last week, Camilleri still celebrated mass in a private chapel, wore clerical clothing and presented himself in public as a priest.

MaltaToday last week reported that in 2013, the Vatican had upheld its original decision to defrock Camilleri, who was first investigated by the Maltese church over the sexual abuse of minors 12 years ago. 

However, sources told MaltaToday that Gozo bishop Mario Grech had not yet carried out Camilleri’s dismissal adding that this could be connected to the shamed priest’s alleged threats to expose other cases of sexual abuse involving Gozitan priests.

Despite the Gozo bishop’s initial refusal to answer why it took so long to dismiss Camilleri, the Maltese Episcopal Conference’s Safeguarding Commission replied to the questions on Grech’s behalf and insisted that normal procedures were followed.  

“During yesterday’s meeting, our Bishops decided that any media questions related to cases of abuse will be referred to the Safeguarding Commission through the Curia’s Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Malta,” the Church’s spokesperson told MaltaToday.

The Safeguarding Commission said that the case has been reviewed by the Head of Safeguarding, Andrew Azzopardi and as a result of this review, “it emerged that Dominic Camilleri has been suspended from all pastoral duties throughout the process, which means that he has had no active role in the Church, including not being permitted to celebrate any sacraments.” 

This decision, the commission insisted, had no bearing on the final decision and was taken to safeguard any minors or vulnerable adults who may have been at risk of harm.

Questions sent to the Gozo church two weeks ago on why Camilleri had not yet been dismissed were only answered on Thursday, with the diocese confirming that the priest was indeed defrocked by the Vatican.

However, the Gozo curia did not say when the papal decree was issued.

The 63-year-old Camilleri had been accused of abusing a number of boys in Gozo over a number of years. The extent of the abuse perpetuated by Camilleri will probably never come to light since the victims have so far not filed a police report.

Questions sent to the Vatican on the case and on whether it was looking into Grech’s dithering in executing the dismissal remained unanswered. 

The commission explained that the Vatican’s decision to defrock Camilleri was taken in two stages, with the first decision taken in May 2013. However, following a request by Camilleri’s legal representative in July 2013, Grech was advised by the Apostolic Nuncio to suspend the implementation of this decision and to refer back to the Vatican.

“Following correspondence between the Vatican and the Gozo Curia, which took into account the submissions put forward by Camilleri’s legal representative, the Vatican’s decision was confirmed in February 2015,” the commission said. 

Subsequently, the commission said, Grech sent a letter in March 2015 to Camilleri informing him of this decision. Camilleri was also informed in writing through his legal representative in May 2015. 

The commission – set up in February to advise senior Church officials on abuse cases – added that Camilleri was “suspended throughout the whole process”.

“Thus any possible or perceived delays had no impact on the safeguarding of minors or vulnerable adults, which is of paramount importance for the Church,” the commission added. 

Earlier this week, Grech told MaltaToday that he would rather not answer questions and when pressed to give an answer he said “all your premises are wrong”. Asked to elaborate, Grech said: “I’ll tell you some other time.”

Moreover, this week the Maltese and Gozitan bishops issued a joint statement in which they announced that all definitive decisions imposing restrictions on clerical activities or dismissal from the clergy, will be made public on the dioceses’ webpages.

Fresh questions sent to Grech on his initial refusal to explain why Camilleri had not been dismissed were brushed aside. In a brief reply, the bishop’s spokesperson said “from now onwards, any questions about such cases are to be addressed to Mr Andrew Azzopardi, Head of the Safeguarding Commission.”

Asked whether Grech’s refusal had been an omission of the truth on th ematter, the Commission later reiterated the bishop’s commitment “that every case of abuse is being dealt with by putting at the forefront the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, as has been done consistently in this and in all cases.”