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	Curia’s Response Team Investigating Another Priest Malta Independent August 9, 2011 http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=130142 The Curia’s Response Team is investigating another priest over involvement in sex abuse at St Joseph’s Home, Lawrence Grech, one of the sexually abused victims, told this newspaper yesterday. “I was recently informed that Mgr Charles Scicluna (the Vatican’s sex crime chief prosecutor) has asked the Curia’s Response Team to investigate Fr Conrad Sciberras’ behaviour when he stayed at St Joseph’s Home around 20 years ago. “Last October, we victims received a letter, signed by Fr Louis Mallia, the regional superior of the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP), informing us that the allegations against this priest are founded. “I remember that this priest didn’t live permanently at the Home, but since he was a friend of Mr Pulis, he would come over and stay at the Home in summer. His duties revolved around supervising young boys. “He is being accused of fondling four boys, on separate occasions, in the sea in Marfa, which is where he used to take us to swim in summer. His actions were witnessed by two other former residents of the Home, who have recently recounted to Mgr Scicluna what they saw happen,” Mr Grech said. When the cases of long-running sexual abuse at the St Joseph Home were made public in 2003, this priest, thought to be in his 50s, was alleged to have fled to Italy before the police charged the now defrocked Charles Pulis, Fr Godwin Scerri and Brother Joseph Bonett (since deceased) with sexually abusing up to 11 boys. When The Malta Independent published his name a few months ago, the priest in question wrote a letter, through his lawyer, informing this newspaper that he was never contacted by the police, that there are no criminal charges pending against him and that he had never fled to Italy. He also threatened legal action against this newspaper if he is again implicated in the sex abuse crimes which took place at St Joseph’s Home. He added that he was serving in Rome years before the accusations first surfaced, where he has continued to be based. He added that he comes to Malta regularly and is constantly in touch with the MSSP, of which he is a member. A week ago, Mr Pulis, 65, and who recently resided at St Agatha Convent in Rabat, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of abusing nine boys. Fr Godwin Scerri, 76, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after the court found him guilty of sexually abusing two boys. The Curia’s PRO could not be reached yesterday for comment. Questions sent to his e-mail address also remained unanswered. The MSSP superior was also unreachable.
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