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	Abuse Claims: Victim Consent Required for Police to Prosecute By Kurt Sansone Times of Malta April 1, 2010 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100401/local/victim-consent-required-for-police-to-prosecute MALTA -- It would be useless for the Church to report priests involved in sexual abuse cases to the police because no criminal action could be taken without the victim's consent, the head of the Church's child abuse response team has said. Retired Judge Victor Caruana Colombo, who acts as the Archbishop's special delegate on the response team, said he did not feel obliged to refer sexual abuse cases that came in front of him to the civil authorities, insisting in most cases victims did not want to involve the police or make their suffering public. "The police will not prosecute unless the victim, or his parents in the case of a minor, gives consent. Even if the police do prosecute, victims can at any time withdraw the accusations unless the crime was performed somewhere accessible to the public or involved violence," he said. Victims reporting abuses to the response team are informed that proceedings will be conducted according to Canon Law but they are also informed of their right to report the matter to the police. "Many argue the Church should report cases of abuse to the police but the same argument holds for parents or victims. They can easily report the matter to the police themselves," Judge Caruana Colombo said. Even in circumstances where the abuse was perpetrated in a public place or violence was used and the police would be able to prosecute without the victim's consent, the Church was not obliged to refer cases to the police. "It should be the parents or the victim who should report the case. If the individual is underage we do not hear the case unless a parent or tutor is present. The parents or tutors would know of the abuse and they can report the case themselves," he insisted. The Times reported yesterday that the Church's response team received 84 allegations of child abuse, involving 45 Maltese priests over the last 11 years. A spokesman for the Curia would not divulge the nature of the cases or what type of disciplinary action was taken. No information was forthcoming on the number of priests found guilty or whether any had been dismissed from celebrating Mass and hearing confession. Judge Caruana Colombo did not agree with the suggestion that this was a veil of secrecy over sexual abuse cases that might give the impression the Church was only interested in covering its tracks and those of abusers. Victims were always informed of the results of the investigation, he said, insisting the Church always took action even in those cases where the abuse would have otherwise been time-barred at law. "We had cases of people who reported abuse 20 years after it had occurred. At law such cases may even be prescribed. Even so, according to our procedure we still investigate because one of the aims of the Church is to provide help to the victim. "However, more important would be to take note of the actions of the priest involved in the allegations and take appropriate measures to avoid a recurrence of the abuse. If the priest is not defrocked he may be prevented from hearing confession or removed from direct contact with children," he said. However, Judge Caruana Colombo said he would not advise the Archbishop to change the current policy of not reporting cases to the police, primarily because of the pain caused to victims. "I would not give such advice because under our laws the police would still not be able to prosecute without the victim's consent. But I also understand the frame of mind of victims or their parents who would be reluctant to go public with the details of their case. It should be up to them to decide whether to press criminal charges. The policy protects the victims," he said. Would it not also protect the abusers, who would remain anonymous? Judge Caruana Colombo insisted the Church dealt with the issue seriously and took action against those found guilty. The Catholic Church has been rocked by sex abuse scandals amid claims and admissions that senior clerics hid cases of child abuse over the years. Pope Benedict XVI has also been targeted because his deputy had stopped a Church trial against an American priest accused of abusing around 200 deaf boys in the 1950s and 1960s. At the time, Cardinal Ratzinger was a senior Vatican figure. The Vatican has strenuously denied any cover-up in this case. Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference related to the Pope's visit on Tuesday, pastoral secretary Mgr Charles Cordina said this was "a moment of great suffering" for the Church and "all the necessary steps" were being taken to ensure this would not happen again.
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