BishopAccountability.org
	Gozo Abuse Case Nears End By Herman Grech Times of Malta September 4, 2011 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110904/local/Gozo-abuse-case-nears-end.383096 The Vatican is expected to decide in the "coming months" whether to dismiss from clerical duties a Gozitan priest who was found guilty of sexually abusing minors, The Sunday Times has learnt. Fr Dominic Camilleri, who is in his late 50s, has been accused of abusing a number of boys in Gozo, though details of the cases, believed to have taken place over a number of years, are sketchy. When contacted, neither the Gozo Curia nor the Vatican provided details on the case, though sources said the accusations were "serious". None of the families involved opted to go to the police. The case was referred to the Curia's Response Team in October 2003 by then Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi. Fr Camilleri was found guilty by an administrative and penal tribunal within the Malta diocese. After the conclusion of the preliminary investigation in September 2005, Mgr Cauchi had presented the case to the Holy See and Fr Camilleri was suspended from all public priestly ministry in December 2005, the Gozo Curia told The Sunday Times. Mgr Cauchi also informed the bishop of Honduras that proceedings had been started against Fr Camilleri when the priest decided to visit the central American country. A Gozo Curia spokesman said: "Bishop (Mario) Grech can assure you that the norms prescribed by the local Church authorities, mainly the Policy for Cases of Sexual Abuse in Pastoral Activity, as well as the norms set by the Holy See, are being scrupulously followed. Currently the case is being investigated by the (Vatican's) Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith." The priest in question has appealed against the findings of the Response Team and a decision is expected shortly. When contacted, the Vatican's chief prosecutor in clerical abuse cases, Mgr Charles Scicluna, told The Sunday Times the accused priest has until October to present his grounds to the Holy See against the decision. "His recourse will be studied and decided by the Holy See in due course. In the meantime the priest is suspended from ministry," Mgr Scicluna said. Contrary to the recent clerical abuse cases in Malta, the alleged victims in Gozo have shunned publicity and are reluctant to speak to the media, sources said. Two Maltese priests were recently handed prison sentences after they were found guilty of abusing a number of boys at a St Venera orphanage. The case, which rocked the local Catholic Church, has prompted the Curia to start revising its clerical abuse probing system, which was widely blamed for delaying justice for 11 men. Contact: hgrech@timesofmalta.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.