When, last April, this newspaper and Bondiplus revealed the existence of allegations by seven men and women who claimed they were ill-treated by nuns at a Gozo church home when still children, most of the reactions of the public were against what were called the “sensational media” and in defence of the Dominican nuns who, in the words of their lawyer, Dr Ray Zammit, “reared the children in the home with love and discipline”.

Since then, the new bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech, who visited the home the day after the Bondiplus programme, appointed a new team to investigate the alleged cases of ill-treatment.

The new team is made up of Judge Victor Caruana Colombo as chairperson, psychologist Dr Ruth Farrugia, and Dr Angela Abela and Mgr Fortunato Mizzi as members. The team was given two months to report back.

A few days later the commission, which gave its contact details as Mrs T. Incorvaja, secretary of the Commission Inquiry Lourdes Home at the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana, called on anybody who had information in favour or against to contact it.

The commission had to report back by 24 June, two months after being set up. In October, the Christian Outlook page on The Sunday Times asked what had happened to the report. On 15 October, MaltaToday reported that the bishop had given an extension to the commission.

Since then, three more months have passed and in a few days time, the commission will have been established for nine months, without a report being presented.

The seven men and women who made the original allegations claimed they had approached the Curia in 1999 but were “ignored”. In a Gozo Curia statement on 29 April, it was revealed that the then bishop of Gozo, Mgr Nikol Cauchi, instigated an investigation headed by Vicar General Mgr Giovanni Bosco Gauci and Fr Edward Xuereb, which concluded that, with regard to charges raised mainly against Sr Josephine Anne Sultana, “some punishment, even corporal, may appear drastic today but was normal at the time, even in families”.

Mgr Manwel Curmi had also stated that the Church directives of the time were observed at the home.

Bishop Cauchi, Bishop Grech and the Mother Superior of the home were invited to appear on Bondiplus but declined the invitation.

The media was then inundated with vituperation against Bondiplus and the story. Dr Anna Mallia said there are many allegations regarding the PN government that Bondiplus should investigate. The then Children’s Commissioner, Sonia Camilleri, said it was not right that the children currently living in the Home were subjected to teasing at school because of the programme, but said nothing about the alleged ill-treatment of children over the years. Dr Toni Abela pointed out that the joint income from Bondiplus and Xarabank is Lm7,000 a week and urged Lou Bondi to investigate the PN secret report following the MEP election defeat.

The unsigned Gozo page on Il-Gens pointed out the irony that while one TV station was relaying a concert by the Sistine Chapel Choir in Gozo, TVM was broadcasting the allegations on the church home.

Wenzu Mintoff called the programme “television viagra” and Justyne Caruana said she was “disgusted”.

Now silence reigns once again.