MALTA
Times of Malta
Thursday, November 6, 2014, 00:01 by Caroline Muscat
The provincial of the Maltese Dominican friars is refusing to answer Times of Malta questions on allegations of sexual abuse by one of its priests, Fr Charles Fenech. This newspaper has been chasing Fr Frans Micallef since last Friday, after the Order issued a statement saying it had repeatedly “warned” him and taken “steps” against Fr Fenech.
Fr Micallef’s curt reply was that he expected the statement he made last week to be published in full, and as it was not, he had nothing else to add. The statement was published on the front page of Times of Malta last Friday.
He said yesterday: “On October 30, I released an official statement on behalf of the Maltese Dominican friars about the case. I expected everyone to publish it as it was, in its entirety.
“Instead, everyone [the media] took what they wanted, twisted it and gave it their own interpretation. Considering this behaviour by the media, I am refusing to answer questions or add anything else.”
In the statement, the Order named Fr Fenech, 54, as the priest from Rabat at the centre of the allegations, saying it wanted to tell the public that he had been stopped from practising as a priest and had been removed as director of the Kerygma Movement.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.