Priest Abuse Victims See 'Small Ray of Hope'

The Malta Independent
December 10, 2013

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-12-10/news/priest-abuse-victims-see-small-ray-of-hope-in-popes-sexual-abuse-commission-3410853891/


Lawrence Grech, the spokesperson for a group of 11 sexual abuse victims involved in the high-profile St Joseph’s Home priest abuse case, sees “a small ray of hope” in Pope Francis’ recent agreement to establish a commission that will help abuse victims with their healing process.

Speaking yesterday to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Grech, who is himself one of the 11 victims, reiterated how, despite the Maltese Church’s claims to the contrary, not a single member of the group of abuse victims he represents has been contacted to follow up on the Church’s offer of assistance to those who had fallen prey to paedophile priests.

In August 2011, Godwin Scerri, at the time 75 years of age, and Charles Pulis, 64, were sentenced to five and six years imprisonment for sexually abusing 11 of the boys in their care at the Santa Venera home over 20 years earlier. Both were defrocked after the sentence.

An ensuing civil court case, in which the victims are claiming damages, is scheduled to continue next week.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Grech was tentatively hopeful that the new commission appointed by the Pope earlier this week may eventually lead to the kind of help that his fellow sexual abuse victims are in need of, and which he says has been denied them despite the Church’s pledges.

Although the Maltese Curia has denied the claim that it abandoned 11 victims of priest abuse, saying they had been contacted by the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) and invited to approach it for help, in writing, in October 2011.

Mr Grech, however, argues otherwise and insists that neither he nor any of his fellow abuse victims have been contacted and that they have been all but ignored.

Pope Francis on Tuesday responded to complaints that he has largely ignored clerical sex abuse scandals, and agreed to assemble a panel of experts to advise the Holy See on protecting children from paedophiles and helping abuse victims heal.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Grech said the development offered “a small ray of hope and we have never received even a single phone call from the Church to follow up on its offer of help” from the Therapeutic Evaluation Board – tasked with directing victims of clerical sexual abuse to therapy – set up by the Maltese Church in the wake of the court verdicts against Scerri and Pulis.  The board – comprised of a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a social worker – is tasked with determining the type of therapy needed by the victims and refer them to the people who can help. The relevant ecclesiastical authority, in this case the MSSP, would foot the bill for such therapy.

But several of the victims, Mr Grech said yesterday, are still suffering from the abuse they had endured but he was hopeful that this step by Pope Francis “will lead to an actual offer of help for the members of our group and for the others who have similarly suffered”.

Tuesday’s initiative came as a surprise, and seemed hastily put together, as if Pope Francis wanted to signal a get-tough approach amid recent questions about his commitment to fighting abuse.

But it remains to be seen if the experts will take up one of the core issues behind the problem – making bishops who shelter abusive priests accountable – and victims groups immediately questioned whether another church study group would really make progress on an issue that has vexed the Vatican for decades.