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	Maltese-australian Bishop Accused of Calling Abuse Complainant ‘crazy’ By Elaine Attard Malta Independent June 10, 2010 http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=107395 A Maltese-Australian bishop improperly leaked the details of an abuse complainant, and described the woman as ‘crazy’, according to a report in the Australian online newspaper The Age. Bishop Joseph Grech, who is based in Bendigo, was born in 1948 and brought up in Balzan but left Malta to study for the priesthood in Australia. He was ordained in 1974 and appointed auxiliary bishop of the Melbourne Archdiocese on 10 February, 1999. Bishop Grech, one of Australia’s most hailed bishops, broke Church rules by leaking an abuse complainant’s details, while he allegedly described her as “crazy’’, and according to The Age, was forced to write a letter of apology to Eaglehawk resident Michelle Goldsmith after an internal Church inquiry headed by a senior Catholic cleric. In his letter to Mrs Goldsmith, he regretted the “distress’’ caused by his general “interaction with her’’. The newspaper reported that the bishop breached the confidentiality designed to protect a clerical abuse victim when he spoke about Mrs Goldsmith with the former Eaglehawk parish president. Meanwhile, the parish president told The Age that Bishop Grech indicated Mrs Goldsmith was “crazy’’ when the bishop twirled his finger around the side of his head and said “that girl needs professional help’’. Bishop Grech, who is currently bishop of Sandhurst, conceded he was sanctioned for talking with the parish president, but told The Age he was concerned only for her welfare and had “no wish to undermine anybody’’. The alleged abuse victim also claimed that Bishop Grech hurled abusive words at her. She said he shouted at her, “You are a waste of my time and the diocese’s money!’’ during a 2008 argument in which she claims his spittle fell on her clothes because “he was so furious and he was so close’’. She believes that the people of the Sandhurst diocese should know what their bishop has done. In the meantime, Bishop Grech denied this and in a statement to The Age said that “definitely is not an accurate account of the conversation’’. According to Australian news reports, Mrs Goldsmith went to the internal Church complaints process, ‘Towards Healing’, over an affair she claims happened with her parish priest. She had also clashed with the bishop over diocese decisions. She says it took too long to resolve her complaint and that both the process and bishops prioritise the priest concerned and not their victims. The Age explains that clerical abuse rights groups have often been concerned that the confidentiality of complainants has been breached by Church figures, but this is one of the few times a bishop has been officially sanctioned. The Church’s independent assessor told The Age that she could not determine the nature of the relationship between Mrs Goldsmith and her parish priest, but the church did say the priest had acted “inappropriately’’ and that Mrs Goldsmith “harbours profound anger and resentment’’ towards the Church. Bishop Grech’s case was supervised by the most senior Australian bishop in charge of ‘Towards Healing’, Toowoomba’s Bill Morris. Disciplining a bishop is unusual, but Bishop Morris said, “it does happen from time to time… systems are only as good as those who put them into practice’’. Mrs Goldsmith is adamant she was not a victim, and that she had an emotional and physical relationship with the priest (not the current Eaglehawk parish priest, she insisted). She says she approached ‘Towards Healing’ for counselling only, but counsellors told her she had grounds for a complaint. After her case was heard, the Church agreed to pay for her counselling and antidepressant drugs. Mrs Goldsmith says the way her complaint was handled shows the Church’s “priority is not the people, it’s the priesthood’’.
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