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	Archbishop, Lawyer, Discuss Compensation for Abuse Victims Times of Malta August 17, 2011 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110817/local/archbishop-lawyer-hold-meeting-on-compensation-for-abuse-victims.380640 Archbishop Paul Cremona and Dr Patrick Valentino, a lawyer representing victims of clerical sex abuse, held a meeting on compensation this morning, but preferred not to give details. Mgr Cremona and Dr Valentino emerged together from the hour-long meeting, saying talks would continue and they, therefore, would not give any details. The meeting followed last Friday's meeting between Mgr Cremona and the victims. It was not clear if representatives of the MSSP attended this morning's meeting, held at the Curia. Dr Valentino told The Times last week that the 11 victims were seeking a holistic package that included the services of social workers and psychologists to help the victims emerge from the state they are in. “When a psychiatrist certifies you as unfit to work, you have a problem. When you can’t hold onto a relationship, you have a problem. When you wake up and instead of leaving the house, you stay in all day on the PlayStation, you have a problem. When you are afraid to wash your kids because you might abuse them, you have a problem. “When the magistrate describes the atrocities you faced in your childhood and you, a grown man almost in your 40s, have to run out of the court hall to vomit, you have a serious problem,” he said. He pointed out that victims were “motionless” inside the courtroom when the priests’ sentence was read out, unlike normal victims of crime who would clap or cheer at having seen justice carried out. “These are broken people. From 11, only two or three are managing to overcome what happened, even though it remains at the back of their minds. This is why there has to be a gesture from the Church.” Mgr Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's chief prosecutor in clerical abuse cases, told The Sunday Times on August 7 that the victims deserved compensation. “I have encouraged their lawyer Patrick Valentino to ask for damages in the civil courts. I think they have every right. But the Church in Malta should be proactive to help them psychologically, and if need be financially.” The Curia, he said, would do well to create a Victim Solidarity Fund which could go beyond the strict demands of damages law, both in civil and canon law, he said.
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