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	Gozo Bishop's Statements against Child Abuse Times of Malta August 13, 2011 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110813/local/gozo-bishop.379979 The Gozo Curia has listed some of the declarations against child sex abuse made over the past few months by the Bishop, Mgr Mario Grech. In a statement, the Curia also pointed out that Bishop Grech was not a member of the response team in the 2003 case. However he was on the response team when the case was presented again. In the course of this second inquiry Bishop Grech resigned from his post in November 2005 when he was nominated Bishop. On August 3, 2011 Mgr Grech told the College of Parish Priests that should they have any information about sexual abuse on a child by somebody working for the Church, they should tell whoever gave them that information to inform the Bishop. They should also request that the police be informed. On June 4, 2011, Bishop Grech insisted that all members of the Church, clergy and laity alike, were duty bound to cooperate with the ecclesiastical and civil authorities investigating cases of sexual abuse of minors. On October 31, 2010 Mgr Grech told a conference that every sexual abuse on a minor was wrong and should be condemned and it was irrespective whether this was caused by a lay person, a religious or a priest. Sexual abuse should be notified to the relevant authorities, particularly the police. On February 10 last year, while speaking in Munxar, Mgr Grech said abuses, particularly involving the Church were scandalous. They caused enormous harm and also undermined the credibility of the Church. In Qala on March 18, 2010 Mgr Grech said he feared that because of concerns over sexual abuse, he would not be surprised if in the future, some people advocated not sending their children to Christian Doctrine lessons or to serve as altar boys, or not even send them to Church Schools. He could not say that such dangers did not exist within the Church, but he would like to see, in other sectors of society and professions, the same rigour and seriousness adopted by the Church to stamp out any such abuse. Mgr Grech said that while he condemned such abuses, he was promising to act whenever he got to know about them. However it was not fair for everyone to blame the whole Church if somebody acted wrongly. On January 25, 2008 during the Golden Heart prize-giving ceremony Mgr Grech spoke on the duty which families and institutions had to promote the rights of the child. It was alarming, he said, that in some families and institutions such as schools, one still heard allegations of physical and emotional violence against children. Such incidents needed to be reported to the authorities. On January 5, 2008, Bishop Grech said at a meeting with priests that the way they acted was important because it reinforced what they preached. Referring to alleged child abuse cases, he said that priests were normally trusted within the diocese. This trust needed to be safeguarded. Incorrect behaviour was not only very harmful to the victims, but it undermined the credibility of the Church. He pointed out that in terms of the policies of the Church in Malta and the Congregation of the Faith, a bishop who got to know about such incidents was in duty bound to communicate with the congregation. On September 8, 2006 during the feast of Our Lady of Victories, Mgr Grech insisted that children had a right not to be abused - psychologically, physically and emotionally. He said at the time that he knew the Agenzija Appogg had a list of 500 cases to be tackled. Couldn't such cases be investigated in a short time? He stressed that the children should be helped to overcome their trauma while the perpetrators should not get away Scot free. Such cases demanded immediate action and those who came to know about them should not close their eyes and mouths. On July 23, 2006 at Sannat, Mgr Grech said that one and all should take a stand against child abuse, irrespectively of who caused it. It was also important for people to speak up to ensure that the rights of the children were protected and respected.
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