Foley Fallout: NewsChannel 5 Speaks with Priest

By Eric Glasser
WPTV Channel 5
October 19, 2006

http://www.wptv.com/News/101906_NC5SpeakswithPriest.cfm

[Note from BishopAccountability.org: See also the excerpts from the interview below and a full transcript. An audio file of the full interview is available at the original WPTV web page.]

After more than 2 weeks of allegations and inuendo, we now know the name of the Catholic priest who Mark Foley claims molested him nearly 40-years ago.

The kids called him Father Tony. These days father Anthony Mercieca is a 72-year-old man, retired and living on the Island of Malta - that's south of Italy. But Father Anthony was a man in his early 30's when he worked at the Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth.

A priest, who had been transfered to South Florida from Brazil. It was 'at' sacred heart that he met Mark Foley. an altar boy with whom he formed an inappropriate relationship.

"Let bygones be bygones. " That - from Father Anthony Mercieca.. who also told us he'd taken Mark Foley on trips to museums in New York and Washington D.C.

Father Mercieca worked at Sacred Heart only for a months after this - then transferring to as many as a half-dozen other churches in south florida before retiring. He 'says' this relationship with Foley was isolated, but that may now be a matter for the church and law enforcement to investigate.

Here's part of our interview this morning with Father Mercieca:

"Yeah, we were great friends, you know? When I came I didn't know anybody, you know? And he was - to be very friendly - and we became friends, like that."

"Then uh, once - and maybe I touched him or so, you know, but because it's not something you'd call rape or penetration or anthing like that, you know? It was just fondling."

"It was sort of like more like a spontaneous thing."

"I would say that if I offended him I am sorry, but that to remember the good time we had together, you know? And how we enjoyed each other's company. And to let bygones be bygones."