The victims of sexual abuse committed by priests at the St Joseph’s Home for Boys in Santa Venera are set to file a compensation claim in court today.

The civil law suit follows the confirmation of a 2011 sentence against two priests accused of the sexual abuse of minors in their custody, the victims, comprising 11 individuals. The case came to light in 2003 after one of the victims, Lawrence Grech, decided to break his silence.

Mr Grech, who claimed he had been sexually abused while residing at St Joseph’s orphanage in Sta Venera in the late 1980s, told The Malta Independent that the case will be filed against the Curia, government, the Attorney General, Fr Carmel Pulis, Fr Godwin Scerri (both former members of the MSSP), the Archbishop, the St Paul Missionary Society, and others.

This follows the confirmation of a 2011 sentence against the above-mentioned two priests accused sexually abusing minors in their custody after the two accused had filed an appeal against the original judgment.

After the jail sentence was announced, Mr Grech had told this newspaper that “only time will rid me of what I’ve been through”.

Mr Grech said that next in line is to file a compensation claim.

Last December, the victims filed an official letter demanding compensation from the Church. The Church insisted it was not responsible as an institution.

The former Vatican sex crimes prosecutor, Mgr Charles Scicluna, had said the Maltese Church is in the process of completely revamping its clerical abuse probing system, which is widely blamed for delaying justice for 11 men who were abused by three priests.

In an interview, Mgr Scicluna had been quoted as saying that the victims were defenceless and considered Bro. Pulis ‘the god’, the one who was in control at their home. They depended on him for clothing, food and entertainment.”