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Fr Mark Montebello Denies Informing Abuse Victim of Cash for Silence

Malta Today
November 10, 2014

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/46021/fr_mark_montebello_denies_informing_abuse_victim_of_cash_for_silence#.VGHed_l_uSo

Fr Mark Montebello

Fr Mark Montebello has denied acting as an intermediary between a man acting as the victim’s assistant and an unidentified person who was ready to pay a six-figure sum in exchange for the woman’s silence.

The woman is one of the complainants in the clerical sex abuse case involving the former Kergyma Movement director.

Yesterday, the Sunday Times of Malta reported that the offer had been communicated by Fr Montebello to Edgar Bonnici Cachia, who is assisting the victim.

Bonnici Cachia told the newspaper that it was Montebello who called him, informing him of the offer. According to the same newspaper, Montebello had passed on a message on behalf of a married person.

Following the publication of the news report and Montebello's reaction, Bonnici Cachia proceeded to file a police report against Montebello.

But in reply to the news report, Montebello denied ever having acted an intermediary.

“I had not been in any way an intermediary in the matter. What happened was that, while speaking with Edgar Bonnici Cachia on the phone about some other matter, I mentioned in passing that it came to my attention that money had been offered to the alleged victim and that it had been refused.

“Bonnici Cachia told me that he was aware of such cases and that neither he nor the alleged victim were for sale,” Montebello said.

The Dominican philosopher vouched that he had not passed on to Bonnici Cachia, or to someone else, any message on behalf of anyone.

“I consider such money offering to be unethical and immoral, and that I would never accept to be part of such dealings,” Montebello said.

In reaction to Montebello’s clarification, the Times also published a transcript of the telephone conversation held between its journalist and the priest.

According to the transcript, during which Montebello requested not to be quoted, said that he had met a married couple who had been asked to deliver a message to the victim.

“The person who told them [the couple] about the offer approached them because they knew the victim well and told them to call her to drop the allegations and they accepted to do it. When they called the victim she got angry and told them she was not interested and she was sorry they called her because she knew them and loved them and told them not to call again, at least not on this,” Montebello told The Sunday Times.

 

 

 

 

 




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