News • October 12 2003

All contact with children has been cut off

The provincial of the Missionary Society of St Paul, Fr Bernard Mangion yesterday confirmed to MaltaToday that he took the "necessary action to ensure that all contact with children was cut off" for the three members of the order being investigated by police on allegations of sexual abuse.
The three members of the MSSP mentioned in depositions made to the police by alleged victims of child abuse while at the St Joseph Institute in St Venera are Fr Charles Pulis, Fr Joseph Bonett and Fr Godwin Scerri. The fourth person being investigated is Fr Conrad Sciberras, a former member of the MSSP now a diocesan priest.
Apart from the St Joseph Home, the MSSP also runs the St Paul’s Missionary College and the Depiro Youth Centre both in Rabat.
This week MaltaToday received a number of phone calls from parents, who were concerned about possible contact Fr Bonett could have had with children at the Depiro Youth Centre in Rabat. This newspaper knows of at least one instance on 18 September, when Fr Bonett was seen locking up the dressing rooms at the youth centre.
However, the MSSP provincial told MaltaToday he has taken all the necessary action to ensure that all contact with children the three members could possibly have was cut off pending police investigations.
Fr Mangion also said that Fr Godwin Scerri was currently in Malta and has been here for quite some time, contrary to what was reported last week.
The allegations of paedophilia against the four clergymen were made by at least six men, former residents at the St Joseph Institute for children.
The cases investigated by the police concern sexual abuse perpetrated at the Home during the 1980s. However, one particular case concerns an incident that occurred this summer, involving a 15-year old boy who still resides at the institute. A care worker had unexpectedly entered a room and found the 15-year old boy in the presence of a priest who allegedly had his trousers unzipped in rather revealing circumstances.