MALTA
Malta Independent
Commission to ensure individuals working within church institutions do not pose risk to children
Therese Bonnici
A commission for the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, set up by the church, will seek to ensure that adults working within church instructions do not a pose a risk to the children they work with.
The commission is also responsible for investigating cases of social abuse and assisting the police in their investigations. Any member of the clergy or other individuals working within church institutions may be suspended temporarily or permanently if they pose a risk to the people they work with. Even in cases where there is not enough evidence, the individual in question may be suspended, if there is a doubt that he or she poses a threat. It is ultimately the superiors who decide whether one is suspended or not, however the advice of the commission will be taken into consideration.
The commission, set to start functioning next month, will be taking over the Church’s Response Team and will inherit five cases – three involving a minor and two involving an adult. Two of the cases have already been made public. The board holds the legal obligation to report any allegation of sexual abuse to the civil authorities. Some cases need also be forwarded to the Vatican – but this depends on the role held by the individual alleged to have committed the crime.
Education workshops and discussions will be held with members of the church working with children or vulnerable adults. Those still to be recruited within church institutions – including church schools – will undergo a strong scrutinising process. Church institutions are also obliged to review the sexual offender’s list every so often.
The police document, launched this morning states that in cases when a pastoral functionary engages in sexual contact in a pastoral relationship, such behavior is considered to be always abusive, whether with or without consent. Pastoral functionaries are expected to behave in an exemplary way, even in their social life outside such pastoral activities. When social relationships become sexualized, even with consent, they are considered inappropriate, unacceptable and scandalous.
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