Gozo church commission ‘processing’ case of priest who brokered rape case deal

The Gozo church’s Safeguarding Commission has confirmed the case involving a priest who acted as intermediary to silence a rape victim is being investigated.

Lorraine Borg, the head of the commission, told MaltaToday in an interview published today that the case concerning Fr Michael Said is “currently being processed”.

She declined to give details about the process and what action will be taken, if at all.

“I cannot comment on the details at this stage,” she said, adding “the case is being looked into.”

Said had mediated a €7,000 payment in 2008 to the family of a 14-year-old rape victim, allegedly encouraging them to withdraw the criminal complaint rather than pursue court proceedings. The complaint named multiple men, including the brothers of former PN MP Chris Said. The girl’s family members later testified that they felt pressured into withdrawing the complaint. All four accused were acquitted given that the complaint was withdrawn.

Fr Michael Said

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The case resurfaced last March when the acquittal was confirmed on appeal.

Borg said the case is being processed in line with the Vos Estis Lux Mundi guidelines, a framework introduced by Pope Francis in 2019 specifically to hold church authorities accountable for covering up or obstructing the reporting of abuse.

Unlike standard safeguarding procedures, which deal with direct perpetrators, Vos Estis applies to those who enabled, concealed, or interfered with complaints.

Borg was careful to set out the commission’s role in the process. “We always carry out a preliminary investigation, we do not pass judgment, we make recommendations,” she said. “You cannot rush to give statements just because a judgment has come out.”

On the question of public accountability, Borg acknowledged that people have a right to information, but only to a point. “The public has a right to know, to a certain extent,” she said.

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She said that speaking too openly while a case is still being processed risks deterring others from coming forward. “If someone is thinking about whether to come to us, and they see the head of the commission speaking to the media, they might wonder: ‘Will she speak about my case tomorrow?’ That is why I feel the need, especially at this point while the case is still being processed, to hold back.”

A 160-page judgment, she added, does not tell the full story. “Very often, we end up commenting more on the headlines and the titles than on the actual case. We need to see it in its totality. We have to be very cautious, above all, to safeguard the victim and her entire family.”

Borg acknowledged that no action was taken when Said's involvement first became public in 2008. “The commission didn’t exist then; the policy didn’t exist and neither did mandatory reporting,” she said.

That gap meant the case lay dormant for nearly two decades before the Court of Appeal ruling brought it back into public view earlier this year.