Two former priests yesterday sat impassively as an appeals court
judge confirmed a magistrate’s decision to send them to jail for sexual
abuse crimes committed against children in their care.Godwin Scerri, 75, and Charles Pulis, 64, bothformer members of the Missionary Society of St Paul, were sentenced in August last year to five and six years’ imprisonment respectively for sexually abusing 11 boys in their care at St Joseph Home in Sta Venera some 20 years ago.
Mr Justice David Scicluna spent two hours reading out a meticulous and studied judgment. The men were then led away surrounded by six police officers and taken in a prison van to begin their jail term.
The case first came to light in 2003 when the victims and, namely, Lawrence Grech, who became the unofficial spokesman for them, spoke up about what went on in the home when he was a teenager.
The victims present in court told reporters afterwards that while they still considered their abusers as parents, they would not forgive them for what they had been put through.
Mr Justice Scicluna went through all the testimony and evidence and waded through the arguments presented by the defence lawyers Giannella de Marco and Joseph Giglio.
Although not altering the jail term, the judge found Mr Scerri not guilty of abusing one of the boys because he had proved that he was not in Malta when the crime was meant to have taken place.
In the case of Mr Pulis, the judge found that the charge involving another victim ought to be dropped because it was time barred.
Referring to one of the main arguments used by the defence team, that the whole case was the figment of the “extraordinary imagination” of Mr Grech, the judge asked: “Why? What reasons could lead this court to believe this theory?”
He said that it was suggested by the accused that the allegations were borne out of hatred towards the Church or the clergy or the promise of money.
But, he added, would such reasons really push individuals to subject themselves to public suffering when victims usually tried to hide the fact they were abused.
“It was alleged that Mr Grech liked the publicity and played the victim but what about the other men?” the judge said.
Although some of the victims’ actions were contradictory, the judge said court did not speculate about their motivations but relied on the evidence that was presented.
Mr Justice Scicluna noted the contradictions in Mr Grech’s actions, adding that on one hand he made serious allegations and yet on the other kept in close contact with his abuser.
He remained close with Mr Pulis for many years after the abuse, the judge said.
Yet when testifying, Mr Pulis said Mr Grech had pent-up anger towards him without qualifying why. This, the judge said, signified anger because he was abused.
In conclusion, the judge said that after reviewing the evidence, the Magistrates’ Court legally and reasonably reached a guilty verdict.
In deciding on punishment, the judge took into consideration that both men had psychological and medical problems and asked the prisons director to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that they would receive appropriate care.
Moving on from clerical abuse case
November 14, 2012
Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that this court case is finally over.
Two former priests who have used every legal tool at their disposal
to drag out a very sad episode will finally go to prison for abusing
children in their care after an Appeals Court confirmed their
convictions yesterday.
Godwin Scerri and Charles Pulis, formerly members of the Missionary
Society of St Paul, were sentenced in August 2011 to five and six years’
imprisonment respectively for sexually abusing boys in their care at St
Joseph Home in Santa Venera. However, rather than show contrition for
what they had done, they chose to prolong the pain for their victims.
Their approach, though legally permissible, was not morally
commendable – even if at the conclusion of the appeal yesterday the
presiding judge found that the charges filed in relation to one of the
victims against Mr Pulis was time-barred and that Mr Scerri was not
guilty of abusing one of the boys from several who made allegations.
Ultimately, this was of little consequence because Mr Justice David
Scicluna felt it made no difference to the prison sentences they were
handed by a magistrate last year.
The primary relief comes for the victims themselves. The incidents
took place many years ago and all of them now are grown men, some with
families of their own. But their psychological scars have been clearly
visible throughout. These are the indelible marks that the former
priests have left on these human beings.
For them it has been an intolerable struggle for justice. They first
waited for years, as many victims do, to speak out. And when they did,
they were mistreated by the justice system.
It is a hugely embarrassing fact that this criminal case took almost a decade to reach its conclusion.
The Church itself has not emerged well from the scandal either.
Its Response Team, tasked with dealing with such cases, proved
woefully inadequate and it took the intervention of the Vatican’s chief
prosecutor, Mgr Charles Scicluna, who is now Malta’s new Auxiliary
Bishop, to move things along.
The time has now come not to forget – these things can never be forgotten – but to attempt to move forward.
With the judicial process now over – at least one would hope it is
over – the ball is once again in the Church’s court to ensure that it
treats the victims with the compassion they deserve.
Some of the victims have not always helped themselves with their
aggressive utterances. However, the Church must make good on its promise
to give them access to the board it has set up offering therapeutic
services for victims of abuse by the clergy.
It should also ensure that they receive compensation and also
continue to promote a culture in which it receives with compassion all
those who come forward with allegations of abuse.
Mgr Scicluna can use his broad experience to help bring this about,
while it behoves the rest of us to constantly bear in mind that the
large majority of priests in our community do nothing but good.
There has, of course, been another loser in this terrible case and
that is St Joseph’s home. It is often forgotten that this institution
has done sterling work in the past and still does so today, caring for
around a dozen children who have not got the opportunities in life
enjoyed by many others. They should not be penalised because of the
heinous acts that Mr Scerri and Mr Pulis have been found guilty of
committing.
On the contrary, the public should support them more than ever.
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