On Church response team’s policy on abuse allegations
My attention today has been drawn to an article by Mr Karl Stagno-Navarra entitled ‘Curia Council halted Bishop from reporting clerics to police’ carried in MaltaToday of Sunday 18 April 2010. I assume that this article was written after Mr Stagno-Navarra had interviewed me for, as he said, Al Jazeera. I wish to clarify some affirmations made in the article.
I never in any way suggested to anyone that the guide on procedures concerning sexual abuse allegations, issued by the Roman Curia’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had been hidden from the Response Team by Archbishop Emeritus Guzeppi Mercieca, by Archbishop Emeritus Nikol Cauchi or by anybody else. I said in the interview that at that time I had not yet seen the guide, and so could not comment on it.
I was then told that according to the guide the Church would have to report to the Police all allegations of abuse without investigating such allegations. I remarked that in that event the Response Team would become redundant.
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