Priest In Foley Affair Barred From All Religious Duties

The Archdiocese of Miami on Friday barred the Rev. Anthony Mercieca from functioning as a priest anywhere in the world after confirming that he was the clergyman who Mark Foley said molested him in the 1960’s.
Father Mercieca, who now lives in Malta, can no longer publicly celebrate Mass, administer the sacraments or wear priestly clothes, said Mary Ross Agosta, a diocesan spokeswoman.
Ms. Agosta apologized to Mr. Foley in a statement and described as repugnant Father Mercieca’s intimate contact with him, which the priest disclosed to a Florida newspaper this week. Father Mercieca, 69, worked in South Florida for almost 40 years and remains under the auspices of the archdiocese.
“Such behavior is morally reprehensible, canonically criminal and inexcusable,” Ms. Agosta said.
Mr. Foley, 52, resigned from the House of Representatives last month after the release of sexually explicit messages he had sent to teenage Congressional pages. Soon after, his lawyer announced that Mr. Foley is gay, had gone into treatment for alcoholism and had been molested by a clergyman when he was 13 to 15.
“An apology is due to Mr. Foley for the hurt he has experienced,” Ms. Agosta said.
So far, she said, no one else had reported sexual misconduct by Father Mercieca. He worked in at least eight parishes in South Florida since 1966, most recently at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in Miami Springs from 1993 to 2003. Ms. Agosta said he left Florida to retire.
“There were absolutely no other problems,” she said in an interview.
Ms. Agosta said the Archdiocese of Miami had begun an internal investigation that could result in further sanctions against Father Mercieca. A spokesman for the archbishop of Malta said an investigation was under way there, too.
Though retired, Father Mercieca was still saying Mass every morning at a cathedral on Gozo, the Maltese island where he was raised and now lives with his brother, also a priest.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an advocacy group, said that both diocesan actions were insufficient and that Father Mercieca should be put in a secure treatment facility while the police investigated.
The Herald-Tribune of Sarasota, Fla., reported Thursday that Father Mercieca said he had skinny-dipped and lounged naked in saunas with the young Mr. Foley, massaged him and roomed with him naked on overnight trips. He said that once, on tranquilizers, he might have gone further with Mr. Foley but could not recall details.
Father Mercieca repeated the claims in interviews with other news outlets, but also said his relationship with Mr. Foley was not sexual.
The survivors group has urged Mr. Foley to press charges, but the statute of limitations has probably expired. His civil lawyer, Gerald Richman, said Friday that he had no idea whether Mr. Foley would pursue the matter.
Mr. Richman identified Father Mercieca to Palm Beach County prosecutors this week as Mr. Foley’s molester. Prosecutors shared the information with the archdiocese, but said they would do nothing more unless other victims emerged.
Ms. Agosta said the archdiocese, which includes Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, would encourage any other victims to come forward by asking every parish to make an announcement about Father Mercieca.
from The Amherst Times