The Gozitan priest, claimed by two people to have sexually molested them, described the “aggressive and unfavourable” exposure he is getting as “unfair and unjustified” yesterday.

The priest, Fr Anthony Mercieca, said this on Thursday night in a two-

paragraph statement signed by his Gozitan lawyer, Dr Alfred Grech.

The statement read: “In the wake of the onslaught of accusations levelled against him, Rev. Fr Anthony Mercieca believes that nothing that had happened between him and Mark Foley, some 40 years ago, could provide solid grounds for legal action against him. He therefore considers the aggressive and unfavourable exposure as being unfair and unjustified.”

The statement continued: “Regarding the allegations made by Attorney Jeffrey Herman, speaking on behalf of an unidentified person with the name of John Doe No 26, Fr Mercieca emphatically denies the accusation made against him and describes it at best as a figment of the imagination and at worst as a malicious fabrication.”

Former American Republican congressman Mark Foley was the first to speak about the alleged abuse that he said took place in the 1960s. Mr Foley claimed that he had had several encounters that might have been perceived as “sexually inappropriate”, when he was still a boy.

However, in a report carried by the Associated Press, Fr Mercieca had immediately denied these accusations.

The priest was quoted as saying: “We were friends and trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers”.

In another development earlier this week, a 41-year-old man, referred to in court under the fictitious name of John Doe No. 26, filed a civil lawsuit against the Miami Archdiocese claiming that he had been sexually abused by Fr Mercieca in 1978.

In an exclusive telephone interview with The Malta Independent on Wednesday, John Doe No. 26’s lawyer Jeffrey Herman confirmed his client would be requesting in excess of $10 million (Lm3.4 million) in damages, but that the jury would decide on the appropriate compensatory damages.