MALTA
Malta Independent

Alison Bezzina

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Every time a member of the clergy is accused of sexual abuse, exactly the same series of events is played out. First, the allegations are made public, then we learn that the case has been in front of the Curia’s (NON) response team for ages, then he is charged and arraigned, and then the ‘non-judgmental’ types come out from whatever dark corner they’ve been hiding in and start to defend the presumption of innocence. They argue, usually until they’re blue in the face, that we cannot try someone in the court of public opinion and that everyone should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. They even argue that the name of the accused should not be made public.

For reasons explained by the editor of this news portal, The Malta Independent chose to publish the name of the latest priest…