A chaplain
has been arraigned on charges that he sexually abused three teenage boys. The
news comes as the Catholic Church attempts to deal with the growing number of
sexual abuse cases around the world.
Deutsche Welle, 14 Oct 2015
More than 90 percent of Maltese inhabitants are Catholic, according to the CIA World Factbook |
A Catholic
priest in the largely Catholic country was officially accused on Wednesday of
sexually abusing three teenage boys between 2010 and 2013.
The
44-year-old, Donald Bellizzi, the current chaplain of the airport chapel,
pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court rejected his lawyer's request for
bail.
Bellizzi is
accused of sexually abusing three boys who attended a group encouraging them to
join the priesthood. The boys, who were minors at the time, are now between the
ages of 18 and 19 years old, German news agency dpa reported.
The Maltese
Church Safegaurding Commission confirmed the case in an online statement,
saying they immediately passed the complaint on to police. In the past, the
Catholic Chuch had sought to deal with such issues internally without law
enforcement.
The
accusation comes as the issue of sexual abuse grows more and more pressing for
the Catholic Church. Last month, Pope Francis met with victims of sexual abuse
during his tour of the United States.
"For
the sexual abuse of children, these cannot be maintained in secret, and I
commit to a careful oversight to insure that youth are protected and all
responsible will be held accountable," he said during a speech in
Philadelphia.
blc/msh (dpa)
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