Seven years since the Maltese courts began hearing a case of long-running sexual abuse at the St Joseph’s Institute in Sta Venera, alleged abuse victim Lawrence Grech is at the end of his tether – so much so that two weeks ago he wrote to the Vatican requesting an apology from the Pope when he visits Malta later this month. So far there has been no reply to his letter.
This week he went to leading Italian newspaper La Repubblica with his tale of abuse and endless court proceedings, in which he feels almost certain that justice in his respect, and in respect of nine others allegedly abused at the orphanage at the hands of members of the clergy, will not be meted out.
The article was carried yesterday under the heading of Malta, gli orrori nell’orfanotrofio “E i preti pedofili sono ancora qui“ (Malta, the horrors in the orphanage “And the paedophile priests are still here”).
Speaking yesterday to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Grech explains how he had reached a breaking point following a string of events starting with the archbishop’s recent apology to Maltese child emigrants, the furore over the impending papal visit and, most recently, comments from a leading Maltese Curia official that abuse victims are informed of their right to pursue the case in the courts.
Mr Grech feels outraged by the fact that the Church in Malta has covered up so much abuse, and described recent comments in the press that Maltese victims of abuse do not want police involvement as “all lies” from his personal experience.
He said that when the abuse at the orphanage where he grew up was first reported, the Church had given him the “run around”, and the police had not taken the accusations seriously. It was only after the story broke on Bondiplus in 2003 that the police started taking the reports seriously.
In all, three members of the clergy have been undergoing court proceedings since 2003 following the allegations and so far, Mr Grech explains, proceedings have only focused on one of the three facing charges of abusing orphans in their care.
The case, he explains, has been ongoing for seven years and has so far only focused on one of the accused. At this rate, he questions how long it will take before the entire case is concluded in finality, 21 years or possibly more at the current rate, he ventures.
Court proceedings since 2003, he says, have been a “waste of time”, with the case being deferred constantly, meaning that proceedings are dragging on at a snail’s pace.
The defence’s ploy, he says, is to buy time, AND to keep things quiet and proceeding very slowly.
But, he insists, he will never give up his fight for justice.
In his letter to the Vatican, Mr Grech explains how he and nine others grew up in the orphanage, where he and others were abused “every day”.
An extract from the letter published in yesterday’s edition of La Repubblica reads, “I want to tell my story and that of the other nine victims of sexual abuse. We had done so with the Maltese authorities, but they did nothing.”
In all, he writes, “there were four priests involved in the abuse, one has since fled to Italy and the other three have admitted their responsibility to the police. But the Church here is very powerful, and has the best lawyers…”
Mr Grech’s appeal to the Vatican comes after seven years of litigation and continual delays in the case’s hearings. Mr Grech says that when he was 13, he was constrained to be touched by his carers at the Sta Venera orphanage and was even forced to dress in women’s clothes.
Since proceedings began in 2003, hearings have taken place behind closed doors and the courts have banned the release of case documents, meaning that testimony from the accused has not been published in Malta.
Yesterday’s feature in La Repubblica, however, reveals a few of the sordid details emerging from the case, including statements that could easily be interpreted as admissions of guilt from two of the priests.
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