Fr. Anthony Mercieca

Ordained: 1962
Status: Settled

Diocese: Archdiocese of Miami FL

Ordained for the Diocese of Gozo, Malta. Assigned in the Archdiocese of Miami from the mid-1960s through the early 2000s. Admitted in 10/2006 that he fondled altar boy Mark Foley (later U.S. Rep for FL,) in the mid-1960s when Foley was ages 11-13. John Doe 26 then filed suit, alleging that Mercieca performed oral sex on him in the late 1970s at age 12-13. Mercieca admitted that he skinny-dipped with Foley, gave him nude massages, and took him on trips to DC and NYC. (Foley was forced to resign from Congress in 2006 because of his behavior with congressional pages.) A civil suit against Mercieca settled in 7/2007. Another suit filed in 10/2008 claimed abuse in 1977. In 2006 Mercieca was in active ministry in Malta. The Archdiocese of Miami removed his faculties.


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