Maltese residents stand by priest Foley accused

Massaged Foley, was naked with him
“We have big respect here for priests and religion,” Maria Pace said. “It’s very important here and everyone here knows priests.”

On Wednesday, Mercieca told the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune by telephone that he had massaged Foley as a boy in the nude, was naked in the same room on overnight trips with him and had gone skinny dipping with him.

On Thursday, he told The Associated Press that he was naked in a sauna with Foley. Also Thursday, he told WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla., that he touched Foley “once, maybe.”

Denied having sex
In all the interviews, he denied having sexual intercourse with Foley.

“It’s not something you call, I mean, rape or penetration or anything like that, you know,” he told the TV station in a telephone interview. “It was just fondling.”

NBC VIDEO Investigation into Foley allegation Oct. 21: Church officials have opened an investigation into sex allegations Mark Foley made about a retired priest. NBC's Rom Mott reports. MSNBC

Mercieca later the AP in Rome by phone that the reports were “exaggerated.”

“We were friends and trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers,” Mercieca said in the AP interview. Asked if their association was sexual, the priest replied: “It wasn’t.”

He also said earlier in the week that he was using pills and alcohol and could not remember much about a night he spent alone with the boy.

Mercieca had worked at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lake Worth, Fla., in 1967, according to church records. Foley would have been 13 at the time.

A spokesman for the state attorney’s office in West Palm Beach, Mike Edmondson, said law enforcement action in the case is over, unless other alleged victims come forward, because Foley’s attorneys have said that the politician doesn’t want to prosecute.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

CQ: GOP presidential hopefuls — You’re on notice Obama prods China to take role on climate Poll: Americans fret over health overhaul costs Newsweek: Would House health bill boost spending? Mutual financial reliance binds U.S., China NYT: Drug firms raise prices ahead of reform From Levi to Letterman: Palin's rough year Carter defends handling of Iran hostage crisis   FDR papers to become public soon Pro-Cuba embargo money flows to lawmakers Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: