(MALTA)
Times of Malta [Mriehel Malta]
April 15, 2025
By Neville Borg
SNAP’s report does not suggest any recent instances of wrongdoing; cardinal rebuts accusations
A group representing survivors of clerical abuse has written to the Vatican to accuse six cardinals, including Mario Grech, of covering up sexual abuse cases within the Church.
In a letter sent last month and addressed to Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) accuse Grech of “an abuse of ecclesiastical power, office or function that has harmed the vulnerable and caused scandal”.
SNAP makes similar claims against five other cardinals, namely Péter Erdő, Kevin Farrell, Victor Manuel Fernández, Robert Francis Prevost and Luis Antonio Tagle.
Like Grech, several of the cardinals named in SNAP’s complaint are widely seen to be among the frontrunners for the papacy.
SNAP is an advocacy organisation that works to help people who have experienced abuse at the hands of members of the clergy. Originally set up in the US in 1988, it has since established different branches around the world.
Sources close to the Vatican who spoke to Times of Malta described SNAP as a “mixed bag”, saying that, while the organisation carries out important advocacy work, it sometimes rushes to judgement.
SNAP’s report does not suggest any recent instances of wrongdoing by Grech, instead referring to years-old reports concerning two widely documented cases and relies on press reports of the incidents.
Gozitan priest found guilty of abuse, defrocked in 2015
The first relates to Dominic Camilleri, a Gozitan priest who was found guilty by the Malta diocese of sexually abusing boys in Gozo.
Camilleri’s case was first referred to the Curia’s response team in October 2003 by then-Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi.
After the case made its way to the Holy See, Camilleri was eventually defrocked by the Vatican in 2013. By that time, Grech had been appointed Gozo bishop, taking over from Cauchi.
According to reports at the time, Grech was advised by the apostolic nuncio to suspend the decision and refer it back to the Vatican, following requests by Camilleri’s lawyer.
The Vatican confirmed the decision in early 2015, at which point Grech informed Camilleri of his dismissal.
In its letter, SNAP accuses Grech of failing to take action against two other unnamed perpetrators, not reporting the abuse to the police or the civil authorities and not informing Camilleri of his dismissal, leaving him to function and present himself as a priest “in good standing” for two years.
Abuse allegations at Lourdes Home orphanage
The second case raised by SNAP refers to abuse at Lourdes Home, an orphanage in Għajnsielem.
The case first came to light in 1999, when former residents accused two Dominican nuns, Josephine Anne Sultana and Dorothy Mizzi, of severe physical and sexual abuse between 1975 and 1984.
A Church commission had investigated the claims, initially declaring them unfounded.
However, a second investigation was set up by Grech in 2006, shortly after he was appointed bishop, after eight victims had come forward with their claims on TV programme Bondi+.
The second investigation found instances of “inadmissible behaviour involving minors”, prompting Grech to issue a public apology in 2008 and to promise to implement the investigation’s recommendations to “ensure that such abuses will never happen again”.
The case took a new twist in 2024 when victims sued the state for compensation for their ordeal. The case is ongoing.
Grech rebuts accusations
SNAP is calling on the Vatican to investigate Grech’s conduct in the two cases, arguing that he “appears to have failed to immediately acknowledge and report the alleged abuse of several named and unnamed clerics to the proper civil and canonical authorities”.
When contacted by Times of Malta, Grech rebutted the accusations, saying: “I always took all the necessary steps whenever I was informed of allegations of abuse.”
At the time of the probe into the Lourdes Home case, Grech had defended his refusal to publish the investigation, saying: “I’m not a public entity and this was not a public investigation. I don’t feel I have a duty to make it public.”
“Several people have entrusted the commission with their very personal experiences and in complete confidence. I don’t think it’s right to shout it from the rooftops,” he said at the time.
Neville Borg
Fact-checker
Neville runs Times of Malta’s fact-checking service, an EU-funded project operated in collaboration with the University of Malta.