MALTA
Times of Malta
October 7, 2018
By Matthew Xuereb
Curia steps in after court clears Fr Charles Fenech of sexual abuse charges
Fr Charles Fenech, the former Kerygma Movement director once accused of sexual abuse, has been prohibited from carrying out the functions of his ministry anywhere in Malta and Gozo.
Three years ago, Fr Fenech was found guilty of sexually abusing a vulnerable woman who had turned to him for help and spiritual direction. However, an appeals court last month cleared him of this charge. The judge said the woman’s vulnerability had not been sufficiently proven in court and that the sexual relations between the two had been consensual.
Over the last few days, a rumour has been circulating that Fr Fenech – who had been prevented from carrying out his duties pending the conclusion of the case – was to be reinstated.
However, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech have decided to prohibit him from publicly exercising his priestly ministry in the Archdiocese of Malta and Diocese of Gozo, the Curia told The Sunday Times of Malta.
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