MALTA
Independent
Church sex abuse victims seek to remove judge who is Radju Marija president from hearing case
Victims of clerical sex abuse have opened a constitutional challenge requesting that their case for compensation from the church not be heard by Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef, who is also the president of the Catholic-run Radju Marija.
The eleven victims had initially filed an application requesting that Mr Justice J.R Micallef abstain from hearing the case, but the judge turned down this request, saying that there was not a valid enough reason at law why he should stop hearing the case.
Lawyer Franco Vassallo, one of the lawyers representing the victims, argued in court that Mr Justice Micallef is too close to the institution involved in the abuse.
One of the victims, Lawrence Grech, explained how the victims were brought up by an institution run by the church.
“They were our parents,” Mr Grech said.
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