Archbishop Emeritus George Frendo on Wednesday evening apologised for “inadvertently” suggesting that victims of clerical abuse should forgive their abusers before filing a police report — a statement that has sparked outrage, with the Lisa Maria Foundation calling for him to be “kicked out of the Church”.
Frendo was reacting to a Times of Malta report about his comments on a live television programme where he encouraged victims of clerical abuse to forgive their perpetrators first before going to the police.
In a statement, Frendo insisted that he condemned the clerical abuse of minors “in all its forms”.
He said that forgiveness should not be an alternative to reporting such cases to the authorities.
“I apologise if, even inadvertently, I could have been perceived as conveying an alternative impression,” Frendo said.
The retired bishop was part of a panel of four people – three of them priests – on…
View Cache