The Church’s silence on sex abuse cases

Sexual abuse of minors is a despicable act, but when it occurs at the hand of those from a religious background who represent high moral standards, the act becomes even more deplorable.

23 August 2011, 12:00am
by Rachel Zammit Cutajar

5 min read

The Church handles situations of abuse using its own rules and procedures, and these are kept confidential within the secret Curial archives in accordance with Canon Law, and never reported to the police authorities.

Father Paul Galea was part of the initial task force that set out the guidelines which were to become procedure in cases where sexual abuse allegations were made. He explains that the confidentiality is insisted upon mainly to protect the victims of abuse, despite the public perception which suggests that it is simply a ploy for the Church to protect its own.

Also a psychologist, Fr Galea said that 99% of victims who have undergone sexual abuse do not want the media exposure that a criminal court case would involve, and instead choose to report the incident to the Church’s Response Team. “What the victim is looking for is to stop the perpetrator from repeating his offence.”

The Delegate and Response Team for the Investigation of sexual abuses was set up in 1999 in order to carry out preliminary investigations of sexual abuses by pastoral ministers – these include not only priests, but anyone falling under the responsibility of the Church who has access to children – including headmasters, teachers and cleaners, among others.

The team gathers all information related to the case, and if there is evidence that such abuse has taken place, conclusions of the case – along with recommendations – are passed on the competent church authorities.

“Confidentiality is key in these investigations. Even the fact that a person is being investigated is confidential, the intention being that victims of abuse receive the utmost privacy.

“We are not after blood. What we aim for is that abusive situations are stopped as soon as possible.”

A police investigation may take a long period of time to complete, during which abuse may carry on. The Church’s Response Team may advise the Ecclesiastical Authority, at any stage of the investigation, without implying guilt or innocence of the accused, to remove the accused from a position where they would have access to minors, allowing for an immediate response to the situation.

“It is very difficult to gather the appropriate evidence, as it is very easy to make accusations. However, when it comes to revealing the identity of themselves or others involved, then many of the accusers back out, so there is no hard evidence. Using the Response Team’s recommendations, a person who may be involved in an abuse case is removed from the proximity of children right away,” Galea said.

If the reports are deemed plausible by the Church’s Response Team, then Ecclesiastical Authority will terminate employment if this exists. If a cleric is involved, the case has to go through Canon Law, whereby the Vatican organises a penal trial and, if sufficient evidence is presented, organises an appropriate punishment.

Galea said that this involves a much more stringent procedure than that offered by the courts as in a court case there must be evidence of criminal activity. During a penal trial sexual misconduct, which is not necessarily criminal is also punishable.

When asked if the Church felt morally obliged to inform the police authorities of sexual crimes committed against minors, Galea warned that pushing victims to make their darkest moments public would only serve to push the abuse cases underground. “A number of victims only come out and make their case known if they are sure that they will not be named. Victor Caruana Colombo, Chairman of the Church’s Response Team, always informs victims of their right to take their case to the police, though emphasises that is a right not a duty – confidentiality has to be at the prerogative of the victim.”

This sentiment is echoed by lawyer Partick Valentino, who is representing the sexual abuse victims of St Joseph’s Home in Malta’s first criminal trial involving sexual abuse at the hand of Church representatives. “The victims are free to report their case to the police. Using the Church’s Response Team does not exclude victims from filing criminal charges against their abusers.”

While Galea is determined to put a stop to anyone found guilty of abusing minors he is also very careful with accusations. “It is very easy to make false accusations involving sexual misconduct with minors, and even if these prove to be unfounded the lives of the accused persons are forever tarnished. Confidentiality is important from all aspects of the cases involved.”

Social worker Anthony Girard agrees that in a community with strong Catholic ties, victims of abuse would often rather seek help from the Church rather than go to the police to report the crime “the victim often feels safer and possibly feels less shame as there is a feeling of confidentiality and trust, like talking about it within the family”.

When abuse occurs at the hand of the Church itself Girard suggests that this also has to do with the psyche of the victim. “It is strange but, in many cases even when victim has suffered at the hand of the Church they still often choose to report their crime to the Church’s Response Team. Very much like the murderer who returns to the scene of the crime, the abused person sometimes returns to the place, especially if this is an Institution like a care home where, notwithstanding the horrific experience, there were also many episodes of caring and love, in the knowledge that the abuse will not happen again, to ease the pain of the past and to obtain final closure.”

However Girard feels that it is important for the Church to report such incidents to the police authorities so that the perpetrator may be brought to justice. “We have seen recently that when this was not the case, justice was delayed for a long, long time, and justice delayed is justice denied.”

Rachel Zammit Cutajar graduated in economics from the University of Malta...

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This is totally despicable. The Catholic Church here (and indeed Other Churches who do this - and there are many) is a fraudulent front hiding the thousands of Clerics who have continually perpetrated these acts of RAPE against minors and the Hierarchy of the Church including the Vatican has known this for years and years and kept mum about it. The Catholic Church (and the many Other Churches who do this) including the Vatican is not above the Law. In ordinary Law of the Land any person accused of RAPE (let's not hide behind the fact that this is what these crimes are all about) is arraigned before the Courts on Criminal Charges and is often named irrespectively of being eventually charged. These are heinous crimes against young persons and they are abhorrent. The use of Farcical Church Laws set up by High Officers of the Catholic Church - Cardinals Priests and the likes - many of whom have been involved in such crimes of Rape themselves - is a front to protect them from prosecution. For too long the State (and in this I mean the General term representing any Country) has fallen under the spell of the Church (and Churches) to ignore these crimes of Rape against the youngest persons in our Community for fear of being disassociated from the electorate and parallel Church benefits. Take a look at the Catholic Church in the USA where this issue was quietly swept under the carpets for years! Now the Catholic Church is paying out compensation and effecting real criminal cases against the Perpetrating Priests and Cardinals all over the Country. Have a look at the issue in Ireland. It has long been recognised there that this had been going on but no Government of any clout was able to stand up to the issue until recently. The Court Cases there will involve thousands of the Clergy and as we have already seen very senior heads have rolled. Watch what is going on in Italy even now. Over 6000 Priests and Cardinals are being investigated as we write. And then go through the other countries in Europe. Even the Pope's home town and diocese is under investigation with the portent that the perpetrators there were known about and moved around to avoid suspicion-at-large. And you think that it is alright for the Church in Canon Law to be the arbiter of these cases in order to protect the accusers. How wrong is this presumption? The Accusers do not have to declare themselves to the Public Officials that test the validity of these cases - this is totally wrong. Where an Accuser lays before the Prosecutors a potential case of Rape from any Person (be they Church Officials or Lay Persons) the accuser has the rights to anonymity under European Law. EU Member States@ Laws are subservient to EU Law here and that needs restating. There are so many cases where the Catholic Church has had its officials (Priests and the likes) involved in Rape against Young Persons - be they in Malta or Italy or France or Germany etc. that it will take more than the Canon Laws to sort out. It is reckoned that 1 in 20 (5%) of all Priests could at some time have been involved in this area. In the parallel sense though perhaps we should all step back for a minute and consider the Moral Decline of Our Society as a reference-piece to the issue. Our Children are continually confronted with mixed images and metaphors about Morals and how we should behave in Society. They see so many people in high offices of responsibility and in the media and "spot-light" behaving in a manner that is far from the moral standards that we accept. And the Media is littered with such persons in its respected highest positions who seem to be disproportionately represented by those with such lack of moral excellence. Take a look at the leaders in such media areas as the film and television broad-cast areas where our young children are "exposed to" a full mixture of single parents, people having affairs, various advertisements that show naked/semi-naked women and men advertising products that bear any resemblance to what is intended, soap operas that continually convey promiscuity and lesbian and gay relationships, or serious crimes and the likes and take note that these are being heavily-promoted across the world. What do we think about the messages we are conveying to our Young Children? Is it any wonder that they have mixed understandings of life and morals? They and we are being forced to accept these issues as though they were the standards of the many rather than the very small minority. And of course there are those reading this who may say - you are pontificating over the moral issues and decline of Society denying the freedom of rights of individuals to behave as they are the highest majority. This is the Political Correctness attitude we see repeated all across the World - but this political correctness is a defensive statement promoted by the few and which is now being used and turned against the majority even against conditional morals and standards in life. Of course we must accept that not everyone fits the ideal of those to whom we may have reason ion the past to be "Role Models" of such high standards to which we could refer: but what a pity. So when we hear that around 5% of the Priest-Hood in the Churches is perpetrating such crimes against our young and innocent Children should we be so surprised! Possibly not for the issue there is symptomatic of the whole issue of moral decline in Society at Large. The one major difference though is that when our Young Children attend Churches and are helped to be better members of Society through the proper teaching of the Scriptures that they should not be treated as "game" by those Church Officials for Sexual Gratification and Rape. This is a complete affront to the young and it takes them many years to come to a realisation that this is and was wrong. A writer in these papers (and in that I refer to all the Malta Newspapers) reported recently that some of those that have been affected this way have remained scarred mentally for life, and indeed some have even "committed suicide" as a result! So now we come back to the issues of the day and the continuing discussions (and?) acts of Sexual Abuse and Rape which is going on in the Catholic Church. The Hierarchy of the Church cannot stand back and say that we they are "dealing with it behind closed doors" for this does not wash. Dealing with these cases under Canon Law is a "cop out" for it hides from view the 5% that are involved in these Rapes and to give those that perpetrate such crimes an absolution after they have been given their penances is a travesty. All such perpetrators should be subjected to Criminal Law and the Churches involved made to pay out huge sums to those affected.

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What a convenient (for itself) position the Church created for itself!! So it's all for the protection of the abuse that they do not report crime to the police. Surely any idiot will realize that the perpetrators know this and it encourages them to continue the abuse. As has happened with cases that have been made public and the many others that many know about but have been kept hush hush for years. Most women one talks to seem to have a very similar experience when , as young girls, they went to "confession". They all relate stories of priests "asking' them whether they've done this and that (generally sexual stuff) - clearly for their own sick gratification. This was also abuse and has been put under the carpet for years!! No wonder these actions have taken place with such tacit approval through the Church's own policies!!!! I am not saying that all priests have done so - not even that most have. But some have and many people have experience such depravities by priests in confessionals and churches.