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  Maltese Church Condemns Abuse Scandal, Urges Victims to Speak out

Earth Times
April 8, 2010

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317643,maltese-church-condemns-abuse-scandal-urges-victims-to-speak-out.html

Valletta, Malta - The sex abuse cases rocking the Catholic Church are a "source of humiliation" for the Church, two Maltese bishops said Thursday - days before the Pope is due to visit the staunchly Catholic island.

"We ... suffer the humiliation of knowing that these crimes were committed by those who, in the name of the Church, were duty-bound to nurture and protect these young people," Malta Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo bishop Mario Grech said in a statement. "This is a moment of humiliation for the entire Church."

Christians were obliged to cooperate with the Church, rather than disguise facts or remain silent, they added. Only in this way would the wounds be healed once and for all, they said.

"In cases of such severity, we hereby appeal to all Christians to cooperate with the competent authorities, including the civil authorities," they said.

Pope Benedict XVI will make his first official overseas trip of 2010 to Malta on April 17 and 18, a visit overshadowed by accusations of child abuse by members of the clergy.

The Maltese bishops pledged full support to the Pope and recalled the letter the pontiff sent to the scandal-hit Church in Ireland, where he referred to the sex abuse of minors as "criminal and sinful acts."

Last week, a Maltese man who claims to have been sexually abused by priests in an orphanage said the Pope should use his trip to Malta to apologize to local victims of child abuse, as he did with the Irish last month.

Lawrence Grech, 37, is one of 10 people testifying behind closed doors in a case against three priests in Malta.

The local bishops noted Thursday that the Maltese Church was one of the first dioceses to investigate allegations of sexual abuse, both on minors and adults, by members of the clergy. It initiated probes into such claims back in 1999, they said.

"Much to the shame of the Church, these crimes are more horrifying when they are perpetrated by members of the clergy," they said. "As a Church, we sympathize with the victims and feel the need for repentance for the sins of those who committed these abuses."

 
 

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