Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1327573
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 JANUARY 2021 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA POPE Francis has officially de- frocked a 50-year-old priest convict- ed of sexually abusing a teenage boy and sentenced to three years in jail. The erstwhile parish priest of Bur- marrad, Donald Bellizzi, 50, was a member of the Franciscan Order. He was found guilty in June 2020 of corrupting the boy, a crime for which he was sentenced to three years in prison and confirmed on appeal. The Vatican's decree was issued on 3 December and then coun- ter-signed by Bellizzi himself on 22 December. Bellizzi is now one of 84 people, two of whom are female, listed in Malta's sexual offences register. Bellizzi was charged with cor- rupting the boy and another two minors, participating in sexual acts with them and producing or circulating child pornography. He was eventually cleared of the latter charge but found guilty of the first two. Bellizzi had appealed, insisting that the sexual contact had been consensual and protested that the punishment meted out to him was excessive. The abuse had taken place at two retreat homes during the summer of 2010, with the victim being one of five youths who had decided to spend two days in the convent, af- ter expressing a vocation to the priesthood. The priest had taken photographs of the boys as they showered. The victim said he had ended his relationship with the priest at the age of 17. Maltese Franciscan priest who sexually abused 14-year-old boy defrocked by Pope Donald Bellizzi Extent of Gheriexem works shows incursion of road-widening in pristine valley MATTHEW VELLA STORM water culverts in Ra- bat's Triq Għeriexem will ad- dress the problem of flooding in the area, transport minister Ian Borg said while visiting the final stages of a controversial belve- dere project. The area has long been prone to water flooding due to the road being built on the edge of the Għeriexem valley. Borg claimed the works had been "more often than not less appreciated" for the benefit tey would bring to quality of life for the residents of the affected areas. "We have addressed a prob- lem that was disregarded for a long time and which no one wanted to address. But for us, the safety of the people comes before any other interest. As always, we are committed to ensure that we have another infrastructure project of the highest quality and that it is properly delivered to the resi- dents here," Borg said. Infrastructure Malta is now also reinforcing part of the un- derground stormwater catch- ment system between Il-Ħaddi- em Avenue, Tat-Tabija Road, Għeriexem Road and Għajn Qajjet Road (Mtarfa Bypass). Through this separate up- grade, the agency is laying out a half-kilometre stretch of new one-metre width pipeline, in- stead of an older narrower cul- vert, whilst improving the effi- ciency of some of the existing catchments. This system will complement the new stormwater system forming part of the Għeriexem Belvedere Project, to channel rainwater from several streets into nearby natural valleys and watercourses. The Environment and Re- sources Authority has already warned that the widening of the promenade and carriage- way in the Tal-Gheriexem val- ley in Rabat will impact neg- atively on fertile agricultural land, despite slight changes to the original plans. Infrastructure Malta wants to convert the existing road into a "standard single lane carriage- way", apart from embellish- ment works that will consist of a belvedere on a piling struc- ture inside the Gheriexem Val- ley. The NGO Futur Ambjent Wiehed said the proposal does not encourage a shift from one form of transport to another, but simply promotes greater car use by widening the car- riageway and providing more parking spaces at the expense of the ecosystems in the area. "While carriageway for cars was increased, the cycle lane was not introduced with the excuse that it would take up more agricultural land… What was the excuse for widening the carriageway then? What great traffic jams were there?"