For more information: John Moynihan (617-558-55252) of VOTF David Clohessy of SNAP (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Barbara Dorris of SNAP (312-455-1499)

For Immediate Release

Two Organizations Want US Attorney to Investigate Foley's Abuser
They Also Ask Six Florida Police Departments to Start Criminal Probes
Catholic & Victims Groups Believe Criminal Charges Might Be Possible
Priest-Offender Mercieca Abused in at Least Three States, Then Fled Country
Outreach To Other Victims May Find Some Who Are Within Statute of Limitations

10/24/06 - A Catholic lay reform organization and a self-help group for victims of clergy sexual abuse are asking a United States Attorney and six Florida police departments to launch formal criminal investigations into the priest who admitted "fondling" former Congressman Mark Foley when he was a teenager.

Leaders of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the Boston-based Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) are writing U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta in Miami and police chiefs in six towns where Fr. Anthony Mercieca worked from 1966 until 2003. The groups want law enforcement to launch probes into possible crimes by Mercieca and "publicly and aggressively urge anyone who may have been hurt" by him to come forward.

Both organizations believe that the priest may still be criminally prosecuted since he took Foley on trips to Washington, D.C. and New York City areas, may have abuse him there, and has since moved overseas, which sometimes suspends the statute of limitations. And since Mercieca worked in Florida until 2003, there may be other victims who are still minors and fall within the current Florida statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.

"At least some of Mercieca's crimes against Foley or other children may fall under federal jurisdiction," said Barbara Blaine, SNAP's president. "Too often, many people assume it's too late to press charges in these cases. The safe approach, however, is to remember that ''where there's a will, there's a way,' and aggressively seek out witnesses, victims and evidence and see where it all leads."

"Mercieca is clearly a dangerous, deluded and unrepentant man," said Janet Patterson of Wichita Kansas, a SNAP National Board member. "For the sake of all molestation victims, and the safety of kids in Malta right now, the U.S. Attorney and Florida officials must launch an aggressive and thorough probe into Mercieca's crimes. In fact, research, history, and common sense tell us that child molesters rarely molest only one child. Mercieca almost certainly has victimized others and they deserve justice and healing. He could be molesting Malta children right now, and they deserve protection."

"Increasingly we've seen police and prosecutors become more aggressive, dedicated and successful in pursuing older sex crimes. Several factors - greater awareness of how often molesters re-offend, more sophisticated ways to find and analyze evidence, and more public outrage about child molestation - have combined to make the possibility of criminal charges against child sex offenders more likely than ever before.," said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP's national president. "It's premature, risky and irresponsible for anyone to assume that he can't be charged with any crimes before an investigation is done."

Blaine cited Massachusetts, Michigan and Missouri as states where prosecutors have won guilty verdicts or secured guilty pleas in decades-old clergy sex crimes. She also cited the conviction of an abusive Ohio priest for sexual abuse

"We should remember that ultimately Al Capone was jailed for tax evasion," she said

VOTF and SNAP leaders also worry that others who may have been hurt by Mercieca are still "trapped in silence, shame and self-blame," according to VOTF President, Mary Pat Fox.

"Often victims disclose their abuse when they they believe that something good might result, like the arrest of a predator like Mercieca who still walks free,"

Mercieca admitted in media interviews fondling young Foley and giving him massages while naked. The priest, like many other serial abusers, has downplayed his actions against Foley and attempted to blame the victim for"hurting his reputation as a priest."

Mercieca worked at these parishes: St. Coleman in Pompano Beach (1970-1973), Sacred Heart in Homestead (1974-1975), St. James in North Miami (1976-1986), St. Ambrose in Deerfield (1987-1988), Good Shepherd in Pompano Beach (1988-1993), Blessed Trinity in Miami Springs (1994-2004, when he retired). Despite being ordained in 1962, Mercieca is not listed in the Official Catholic Directory from 1963 through 1969. His unusual absence is not explained.

Click here for a copy of the VOTF/SNAP letter, sent to day by fax and e mail.

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VOTF is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group’s mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. Its goals are to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching.