MALTA
Times of Malta
Sunday, November 9, 2014, 00:01 by Michael Falzon
A section of the Maltese press went to town the other week with reports on the alleged sexual misadventures of a Dominican friar accused of abusing of a woman who was in a vulnerable situation. Many lurid details were exposed for all to see, although I understand that the newspaper that published excerpts from the woman’s sworn statement actually left out certain parts because of their explicit nature.
There are many interesting observations one can make from this episode.
First and foremost is the role of the free press in all this. When The Sunday Times of Malta broke the story two weeks ago by reporting that the case had ended in the courts – and it was therefore in the public domain – it refrained from mentioning the name of the renowned Dominican concerned. I’m sure that this was a conscious decision on the part of the paper. A few days later, another newspaper decided to publish the name, and the floodgates were opened.
The decision to publish the name was also a conscious one: it defied the traditional omertá that the press used to observe in connection with such stories, even though there were no such qualms recently in the reporting of the court case concerning the abuse of young boys in a Church institute.
This, of course, indicates that the Church and the members of the priesthood no longer enjoy the privilege of being above the scrutiny of the media.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.