Religious group pushes for new authority to protect minors

The Azzjoni Kattolija Maltija (AKM) group has joined the Curia’s Safeguarding Commission in its call for a national authority to protect the vulnerable and minors in society.

In a press call issued to welcome the commission’s report, which was published last week, the AKM said that the authority would help organisations that work with the vulnerable or minors to share information and ensure the safety of participants, and ensure the identification of cases of abuse as efficiently as possible.

The group added that the report published last week showed that the local church was committed to avoiding cases of abuse and it also emphasizes the need to continue fighting against suffering and scandals.

“Under the guidance of Pope Francis, the Church has also acknowledged a number of mistakes being made by members of the clergy, and it has ensured that these situations were stopped,” the group said in a press statement.

AKM added that the Maltese church had been the first in Europe to create an entity to investigate allegations of abuse, with a clear intention of alleviating the suffering of individuals.

“We are also concerned however, about the fact that a number of cases have come to light where people made false accusations of abuse just to hurt specific individuals,” the group said, adding that civil authorities ought to develop methods to ensure that such false claims are discovered before the accused are taken to Court or exposed on the media.