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	Another Allegation against Priest Tied to Foley Scandal ABC 12 October 25, 2006 http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=nation_world&id=4694279 (Miami - WABC, October 25, 2006) - A former altar boy is now saying he was sexually abused by the retired Catholic priest who acknowledged fondling former Congressman Mark Foley back in the 1960s when Foley was a teen. Attorney Jeffrey Herman says the new allegations against the Reverend Anthony Mercieca come from a former alter boy at St. James Catholic Church in North Miami. It's a church where Mercieca worked decades ago. Herman said he'll file a lawsuit today against the Archdiocese of Miami. His client, a 40-year-old man identified in the lawsuit only as John Doe No. 26, says Mercieca abused him when he was about 12 years old. "He had been thinking about it before Foley came forward, and then when Foley came out and the church encouraged other victims to come forward, he decided to come forward," Herman said. Foley resigned his seat in congress amid accusations that he sent sexually explicit messages to teenage boys who had worked on Capitol Hill. Mercieca, 69, now lives on the Maltese island of Gozo in the Mediterranean. He acknowledged that his relationship with Foley was likely not proper, but denied ever having sex with Foley or any other boy. He told the media no complaint had ever been filed against him at any parish in which he worked. No one answered the phone at Merciea's home Wednesday. His lawyer, Alfred Grech, did not return telephone calls inquiring about the latest news. Though Mercieca is retired, he does regularly celebrate Mass and hears confession in the cathedral on Gozo, according to the Archdiocese of Malta. Foley resigned from Congress last month and has entered a 30-day rehabilitation program for alcoholism, according to his attorneys.
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