BishopAccountability.org
	Mass in Gozo Sunday Skips Mention of Foley Allegations By Maria Sanminiatelli Associated Press, carried in Gainesville Sun October 22, 2006 http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061022/APN/610221545 The sermon at the cathedral on the Maltese island of Gozo where a priest accused of molesting a former U.S. congressman often said Mass came and went without mention of the case Sunday, in what a politician said was evidence of the locals' strong reticence to discuss such matters publicly. "Why would we say something? We know nothing about what happened," said Father Anton Gauci, one of 12 priests who helped celebrate Mass and who has known the accused father, Rev. Anthony Mercieca, since they both were boys. "Certainly I don't think anything grave was done. And then according to what we read in the newspapers, that congressman Foley has passed through some muddy waters," Gauci said. Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a 52-year-old Florida Republican, resigned from Congress last month after the release of his sexually explicit computer messages to teenage male interns. His lawyer later said that Foley was an alcoholic, gay and had been molested as a boy by a "clergyman." Mercieca, who is retired and lives on Gozo, was quoted by media in Florida as saying that he fondled Foley and was nude with him on several occasions while serving in a parish in the U.S. state in the 1960s. In a phone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, he insisted that his association with the boy "wasn't sexual." The Maltese Church has opened a probe into the case. In Florida, the Archdiocese of Miami has confirmed that Mercieca is the person Foley said abused him as a teen, and has barred the priest from all church work as it investigates Foley's claim. Church authorities in the diocese of Gozo and in the archdiocese of Malta said that they knew of no complaints of a sexual nature against Mercieca on the island. Evarist Bartolo, a member of parliament with the opposition Labor Party and a former journalist, said that even if the Diocese of Gozo finds that Mercieca has abused children on Gozo, the public would not necessarily find out about it. "If steps are taken, they would be taken very cautiously and very privately," Bartolo said. Most priests and residents interviewed have either refused to discuss the case or have spoken in favor of the accused priest, who has been described by all as a shy, generous and widely respected man. Those who did not know him did not speak ill of him and tended to shield the church. "Everybody makes mistakes ... But (the case) is about him, not about the church," said Maria Cassar, 22, who was working at her family's cafe Sunday. "This is what I know: the priest in question is a good and spiritual man, and in such cases it is my duty to pray the Lord so that he can assist and bring light to both sides," Gauci said. Bartolo, who also teaches media communications at the University of Malta, said there typically has been little public discussion about the case, especially on the part of the church. "The (local) church has been rocked by a number of church abuse scandals, so that is not new," Bartolo said. "But as is true of small island communities, there is a double reality of private vice and public virtue. People in private are ready to talk about private vices, but they're not ready to hear the media talk about it." The Catholic Church is strong in Gozo, where 70 percent of people attend Mass regularly, Bartolo said. Many families include more than one priest, and members of the clergy command respect among the island's residents. In one past care of reported abuse, four young men said they were sexually abused by priests while they lived at a children's home. The Maltese archdiocese, which instituted a response team in 1999 to deal with any sexual abuse allegations, probed the scandal along with police. A case such as Mercieca's, which has attracted the attention of the international media, could - slowly - lead the church to change. "I think even the church in Gozo will have to adapt to what is going on in the rest of the world," Bartolo said. Meanwhile, no one answered the door at the home that Mercieca shares with his brother in a narrow little street in the town of Victoria, also known as Rabat. A person who answered the phone said Mercieca would not comment and his lawyer, Alfred Grech, shouted obscenities at a reporter who called. The Diocese of Gozo was closed Sunday, and a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Malta did not answer his cell phone.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.