Victims of child abuse by priests win Constitutional case over recusal of judge with RadjuMaria ties

Malta Independent
March 7, 2017

https://goo.gl/MMvAIk

A Constitutional court accepted a number of plaintiffs’ requests for the recusal of Judge Joseph R Micallef in a civil case where they are claiming damages over child abuse suffered at the hands of now defrocked and imprisoned priests Godwin Scerri, Charles Pulis and the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP).

The plaintiffs - Lawrence Grech, Joseph Magro, Leonard Camilleri, David Cassar, Noel Dimech, Angelo Spiteri, Raymond Azzopardi, Charles Falzon, Philip Cauchi and Joseph Mangion - had filed a criminal case against the Curia, the two priests who had abused them, the Missionary Order of St. Paul (MSSP), the Prime Minister, the Education and Family ministers and the Attorney General in 2012. The plaintiffs had claimed that the authorities had been aware of the abuse, but had done nothing to stop it.

Mr Scerri and Mr Pulis had been allowed to keep their positions at the home, holding absolute control over their victims. Confirmed upon appeal, Mr Scerri and Mr Pulis received a prison sentence of five and six years respectively.

In a separate civil case, the plaintiffs filed an appeal on 28 April 2016 before the First Hall of Civil Court before Judge Mark Chetcuti in order for Judge Joseph R Micallef to be recused, citing a breach in their right to a fair trial.

They originally filed the civil case, being heard before Mr Justice Micallef, against Missionary Society of St Paul, Godwin Scerri and Charles Pulis, among others. The plaintiffs filed a case for punitive damages over abuse that took place while they, as children, had been residents of the Archdiocese of Malta.

When the plaintiffs became aware that Mr Justice Micallef was the president of the foundation that runs the religious radio station RadjuMarija, they requested to file a motion for the Judge’s recusal, in view of his strong ties to the Christian community and the fact that the original case has been filed against the MSSP, a Christian society.

The plaintiffs requested that the appeal’s court declare that their right to a fair trial was in breach due to the impartiality, or lack thereof, by Mr Justice Micallef, that he no longer be allowed to hear the case (recusal), that another judge be appointed with no direct connections with the defendants or organisations surrounding the defendants and that legal remedy be provided to them.

Radio stations transmitting religious content, such as RadjuMarija, need to first be approved by the Church. The radio station is transmitted from the Dominican Friars Convent in Rabat, and up until a some years ago, it was directed by Fr Charles Fenech, who faced charges of sexual abuse in court. RadjuMarija is a civil and private not-for-profit organisation, however it is operated by priests, religious and lay people.

Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti, in the court of appeal, had denied the objection raised by the plaintiffs, on the basis that RadjuMarija is a voluntary organisation that does not have any connections with the Archbishop’s Curia. He also noted that funding for the radio station is collected purely through voluntary donations, and that the Archbishop does not provide any sort of financing to Radju Maria.

As a result, a Constitutional case was filed in order to appeal Mr Justice Chetcuti’s decision.

Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo and Mr Justice Noel Cuschieri found that there is an informal link between the Archbishop’s Curia and the Association of Radju Maria. The courts noted that this perception is brought about by the fact that the director of the association must always be a cleric, and that when the director acts improperly or irregularly, it is the Archbishop that has the authority to call him in to respond to such acts.

It was also noted that the Maltese Dominican Province also has the authority to have the director resign from his post.

The courts noted a distinction between the director and the president of RadjuMarija, however it added that both positions have a leading role within the association.

Therefore, it was found that the plaintiffs' reservations were reasonable, and ordered conclusion from the appeal presided over by Mr Justice Chetcuti be voided, that there would have been a breach in the plaintiffs' right to a fair trial and ordered that Mr Justice Micallef recuse himself from the case and that another judge be appointed.

Following the outcry when the story first came to light, in 2015, the Church had publicly apologized and said that it will offer support to victims involved. However, the only help the victims got was a prescription for an antidepressant, Flouxetine. Other than that, the victims have not received any form of support from representatives of the Church.