THE Vatican has instructed the Maltese church to set up a tribunal to hear the cases of three priests accused of child abuse.
The criminal case involving three priests who allegedly abused
children at St Joseph's Home in Santa Venera in the 1980s and 1990s has
been on hold since 2003.
The magistrate
presiding over the case had ordered it to be heard behind closed doors
due to its sensitivity. He also ordered a total ban on the publication
of the priests' names and photographs.
The Vatican's instructions came after the Maltese church-appointed "Response Team", headed by a retired judge, had informed the Vatican in October last year that the claims made by the abuse victims were "founded", a spokesman for the Maltese Catholic Church said.
"The Response Team concluded its investigations and all documentation was sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for evaluation and to take steps according to Church Law," the spokesman said, adding that the tribunal would be set up in a few days time.
The spokesman said it was now up to the
judges from the Maltese church's Metropolitan Tribunal to decide, "after
studying all the documentation gathered by the Response Team, what
witnesses to summon."
He added: "No deadline (will be) given to the tribunal which is responsible in conscience to see that justice is done".
Earlier this week, the priests filed a case in a Maltese court complaining that their right to a fair hearing had been breached by what they described as the "trial by the media".
Some of the alleged victims, around 10 in all, met with Pope Benedict XVI in April last year when the Pontiff visited the predominantly Catholic Mediterranean island.
Prior to the Pope's visit, the Maltese church had revealed the paedophilia response team it set up in 1999 had received allegations against 45 priests, with nearly half of these being ruled groundless.
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