From Mr C. Buttigieg

Reference is made to the article “Redemption: dealing with clergy misconduct and abuse” by Dr Mary Darmanin (TMIS, 5 March).

The Church’s Response Team would like to state that the article makes a number of unjustified statements concerning allegations of sexual abuse.

These include: “(In the Church) serious abuse happens not simply because there are serious abusers, but because there are also less serious abusers in whose interest it is that the whole issue of abuse is not dealt with openly.”

Again: “The Church has constructed a bystander culture. It has equated forgiveness with letting errors go uncorrected… It has valued hypocrisy over honesty. It has protected perpetrators more than it has victims.”

The article also contains erroneous statements such as: “The Response Team “is often a male-only Team”. Since its inception in 1999 the Response Team has, at all times, had at least one lady member.

Again: “The Team does not make any special arrangements for the questioning of children…” The procedures relating to investigation of sexual abuse lay down that an interview with a child victim is to be conducted by personnel who are skilled in interviewing children. In practice the Response Team employs a child psychologist to conduct such interviews.

Charles Buttigieg

PRO

Archbishop’s Curia/Response Team