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	Priest in US Sex Claim Miami Ban on Saying Mass 'Followed in Gozo' By Massimo Farrugia Times of Malta October 23, 2006 http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=240861 The Miami Archbishop's decision to withdraw Fr Anthony Mercieca's faculties, which means that he may not say Mass or administer the sacraments, was being followed in Gozo yesterday, sources close to the Gozo Curia said. The 72-year-old priest, accused by US Congressman Mark Foley of molesting him as an altar boy in the 1960s, was still in his home yesterday and nowhere to be seen, according to sources. Efforts to contact him proved futile. His residence in Library Street, Victoria, was besieged by the international press after the allegation emerged on Thursday. Fr Mercieca has denied having sex with the boy. Acquaintances and neighbours of the priest have defended him saying Fr Mercieca, whom they hold in high esteem, never did any such thing in Gozo. Many highlighted the fact that they knew a different Fr Mercieca from the man being portrayed by the media. Meanwhile, a response team within the Maltese Ecclesiastical Province that deals with cases of sexual abuse in pastoral activity has started investigating the case. A spokesman for the Maltese Archdiocese yesterday confirmed that a preliminary meeting had been held on Saturday, during which the response team, which includes Judge Victor Caruana Colombo and Canon Law Expert Mgr Joseph Bajada, discussed how they would go about their investigation. Asked how much time the process was likely to take, the spokesman said this was difficult to determine and claimed that the process was confidential. The response team, the spokesman said, would be cooperating closely with the Archdiocese of Miami where the alleged abuse took place and where Fr Mercieca is incardinated, especially because Fr Mercieca spent most of his pastoral life in the US. The Miami Archdiocese last week called on any possible victims of inappropriate behaviour or abuse by the Gozitan priest to come forward or contact a law enforcement agency. While the Archdiocese could not be reached yesterday, no fresh allegations about Fr Mercieca have surfaced in the US media so far. Fr Mercieca has admitted to the media, including The Times, to having been in close contact with Mr Foley back then and of having taught him "some wrong things" related to sex and even to having given him back massages in a sauna. He denies any sexual assault or penetration. Mr Foley, a 52-year-old Republican, resigned from Congress last month after his suggestive e-mails to young male assistants surfaced. While he is now following an alcohol rehabilitation programme, the case is likely to undermine the Republican Party's chances of winning upcoming Congress elections.
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