Credit/Source: The Times of Malta: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Two priests have been sentenced to six years and five years, respectively, after being convicted of sexually abusing boys at St Joseph Home in Hamrun.
They have given notice of appeal.
Fr Charles Pulis was sentenced to six years in jail after nine cases were proven against him. Eight took place in the home and another in Marfa.
Fr Godwin Scerri was sented to five years in jail on conviction of similar charges.
Sentence was delivered by Magistrate Saviour Demicoli in a judgement of over 100 pages, bringing to an end a case which first came to public attention in September 2003.The cases happened some 20 years ago. READ MORE: ___________________________________________________________________
Charge sheet error frees priest of rape conviction
A mistake in the charges led one of two priests who were yesterday found guilty of sexual abuse to be acquitted of rape even though the magistrate said the crime did actually take place.
Fr Francesco Scerri, known as Godwin, raped a boy at St Joseph’s Home in Ħamrun and not in Marfa, as indicated in the charges, Magistrate Saviour Demicoli noted.
The error emerged when the victim testified and declared the incident had occurred in Ħamrun and not Marfa. Thus, Fr Scerri had to be acquitted of the rape charge but was found guilty of sexually abusing two boys.
The second priest, Fr Carmelo Pulis, was found guilty of sexually abusing eight boys at the same Ħamrun home and one in Marfa with the magistrate describing the abuse as disgusting.
Fr Pulis was jailed for six years and Fr Scerri was jailed for five years. They will be appealing. A third member of the Order, Br Joseph Bonnett, who had been facing the same charges, passed away last January, aged 63.
The victims, who were then aged between 13 and 16, were resident at the homes in the late 1980s, when the abuse took place.
READ MORE: ______________________________________________________________
‘Wolf-priests should be defrocked’
The victims of two priests who were yesterday sentenced to jail for sexually abusing boys in their care are calling for their immediate defrocking.
“This is history… Now we feel a bit better after all these years,” said an emotional Lawrence Grech, who was the first victim to speak out eight years ago about abuse at the St Joseph’s Home in Sta Venera.
“I cannot forgive. My pain is still there and these people did a lot of damage… I had friends at the institute who are dead today, either because of drugs or suicide. These (priests) are responsible for them too,” Mr Grech said, as he broke down in tears.
Find more: ____________________________________________________________________
Church asks for forgiveness
Fr Pulis defrocked
The Church this morning apologised for the abuse by two friars on children in their care.
In a statement, it noted the Court’s decision yesterday which found Fr Charles Pulis and Fr Godwin Scerri guilty of sexually abusing children.
It said that yet again, it wanted to express its concern that these minors, who were under its care, were abused. It apologised to the victims and to all Maltese society.
It also apologised for the fact that investigations took so long to be concluded.
The Church said that Archbishop Paul Cremona intends to meet the victims again to personally ask for forgiveness. READ MORE
Categories: CHRISTIANITY, Malta
Whenever abuse cases are coming to light we should raise the question of ‘celibacy’. It is unnatural and the Islamic teachings on marriage are natural. (including polygamy in exceptional cases).
Celibacy or Islamic teaching of Chastity: that is the question?
“Then We caused Our Messengers to follow in their footsteps; and We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow them, and We gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who accepted him compassion and mercy. But monasticism which they invented for themselves — We did not prescribe it for them — for the seeking of Allah’s pleasure; but they did not observe it with due observance. Yet We gave those of them who believed their due reward, but many of them are rebellious.” (Al Quran 57:28)
The Malta situation reminds me of some of 2010 events. The scandal related to child abuse of up to 200 deaf children by a priest and the cover up by the Catholic Church’s bureaucracy has brought the institution of celibacy into question in the first half of 2010. I felt that it is prudent to freeze some teachings about celibacy as they exist in the church today, to preserve a snapshot for the posterity.
My interest in this issue is not to defame the Pope or the Church but to examine the institution of celibacy and if it contributes to sexual abuse. Some recent news and opinions on this issue are collected in this knol.
Wherever the Islamic teachings differ from those of Christianity, we can demonstrate the superiority of the Islamic teachings and their greater utilitarian value. See my other Google-knols, including those on alcohol, gambling and HIV infection. When the dust will settle we will be able to high light the elegance of Islamic teachings pertaining to chastity over man made teaching of monasticism.
For details go to:
http://knol.google.com/k/celibacy-or-islamic-teaching-of-chastity-that-is-the-question
I am a Maltese citizen and was surfing the net about this HORRENDOUS issue that has rocked the island of Malta. I cannot say that I am religious but I was born to a staunching Roman Catholic family. To my opinion it is that for SO LONG has the Maltese Church covered up for these priest. Fr Godwin Scerri has pending pedophile charges in Canada and it seems that when these charges where filed back in 1993, he was asked back to Malta and the Archbishop covered up for him. For me this is shocking and the Maltese Church should not only say SORRY as that’s not enough, but change it’s ways to how it treats it’s believers. We already saw a historic win in a popular vote where the Maltese people voted for the Divorce Law, but somehow the Church was supposed to go on a soul searching mission but it didn’t. In stead it reverted to resort to the anger solutions that the people of Malta are becoming sinners. What’s is interesting is to see what will happen next as being a journalist in Malta I heard about other stories of religious people abusing of their powers especially with children and they were covered up.