BishopAccountability.org
	Compensation for Abuse Victims Discussed di-ve August 17, 2011 http://di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=85475&newscategory=36&cache=false Archbishop Paul Cremona and the lawyer representing victims of sexual abuse at the St Joseph Home in Santa Venera started discussions on compensation this morning, although no details have emerged. Two priests – Charles Pulis and Godwin Scerri – were jailed after they were convicted of abusing boys at the home on numerous occasions, although they are currently out on appeal. A third, Joseph Bonett, was facing similar charges but succumbed to cancer earlier this year. The Vatican’s chief prosecutor in sex abuse cases involving the church – Mgr Charles Scicluna – had said that the victims deserved compensation, and the victims are seeking a package which would also see them receive the necessary therapy and assistance. Their lawyer Patrick Valentino had denied claims, made in the media, that they were seeking compensation of around ˆ10 million. Archbishop Paul Cremona met the victims last Friday, and he met Dr Valentino this morning to discuss compensation. But the hour-long meeting will be followed up by others, and both refused to disclose any details at this stage. In a statement issued after the meeting, the Maltese Archdiocese opted to republish comments Mgr Cremona’s predecessor Mgr Joseph Mercieca and then-Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi had said in 2003, when the sex abuse allegations were first raised. The 2 had condemned such cases and said that the first interest was to ensure that the victims are helped, while still ensuring that even perpetrators did not lose their dignity. The bishops had asked for forgiveness for any sexual abuse which may have been suffered by people under its care, and stressed that the church was not seeking to conceal such cases, but only wanted the truth to come out. They had also expressed their condemnation at sensationalist media, while stating that they understood that journalists had to bring such cases to the fore. Mgr Mercieca had also referred to the allegations in that year’s Christ the King celebrations, which occurred soon after. He had noted that the celebrations, for many, were subdued in light of the allegations which had come up, and which tarnished the church’s image.
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