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	Maltese Archbishop Apologizes for Delayed Abuse Investigation By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service August 3, 2011 http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1103073.htm The day after two religious order priests were found guilty of sexually abusing children in Malta, the country's archbishop apologized to the victims and for the church's delay in investigating the allegations. The Missionary Society of St. Paul, the order to which the convicted priests belong, said the Vatican had removed one of the men from the priesthood and was studying the case of the other. Charles Pulis, the dismissed priest, was sentenced to six years in prison and Father Godwin Scerri was sentenced to five years in prison by a Malta court Aug. 2. The men were accused of sexually abusing children at a home for boys. A statement posted Aug. 3 on the website of the Archdiocese of Malta said, "The church once again expresses its profound regret that minors under her care were abused. The church asks forgiveness first from those who suffered abuse, but also from all Maltese society. The church also expresses regret for the fact that investigations into the reports were delayed so long." The priests were convicted of abusing boys in the early 1990s at St. Joseph's Home for Boys in Santa Venera, Malta. The allegations were made public in 2003. The archdiocesan statement said Archbishop Paul Cremona of Malta intends to meet again soon with the victims to personally ask forgiveness. The archdiocese also posted a brief note from the Missionary Society of St. Paul, the order to which the two men belong. It said that in reference to Charles Pulis, "Pope Benedict XVI has decreed the dismissal from the clerical state of the said presbyter as a penalty," but he will "remain incorporated" in the missionary congregation, which can continue to monitor him. "This decision cannot be appealed," the statement said. The missionary order said that "from the moment the first allegations surfaced in 2003, Father Charles Pulis was barred from public priestly ministry as a precautionary measure." Father Bernard Mangion, superior general of the missionaries, told the Times of Malta Aug. 3 that the Vatican was still considering the case of Father Scerri, who also faces dismissal from the priesthood. Both men said they plan to appeal their convictions.
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