EXCLUSIVE: Maltese Sex Abuse Survivor ‘Sees Nothing Wrong’ With Priest Float Now Banned From Valletta Carnival
A proposed float mocking the Archbishop over a high-profile priest sex abuse case has been banned from this year’s Valletta Carnival, but one of the survivors of the abuse itself has said he personally sees nothing wrong it.
“If you’re a public figure this stuff is going to happen to you, like it happened with Joseph Muscat and others in the past,” Lawrence Grech told Lovin Malta. “If you don’t want to be in the public eye then you should just go and hide.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with it, it’s carnival.”
Grech went on to say that his one criticism of the proposed float was that it was Archbishop Charles Scicluna, rather than the two priest abusers themselves, who was going to be caricaturized.
Culture Minister Jose Herrera has banned the float from participating in Carnival
Sketches of a carnival float surfaced on Facebook yesterday, depicting Archbishop Charles Scicluna outside the facade of St Joseph’s Home in Ħamrun where the abuse, which spanned decades and involved multiple children, including Grech himself, took place.
Culture Minister José Herrera and Festivals Malta quickly intervened to inform the float designer that his proposed float will not be allowed to participate in the Carnival festivities.
“The government and even myself personally have already shown our commitment towards artistic freedom and expression. However, it is my opinion that this particular float is highly insensitive towards our Archbishop and towards Dar San Ġużepp where presently there are a considerable amount of children being cared for,” Herrera said.
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