Priest Admits Romps With Foley But Denies Sexual Relations

WASHINGTON — The Republican Party faced fresh embarrassment yesterday ahead of America’s crucial midterm elections when a Roman Catholic priest said he had a series of intimate encounters with the disgraced congressman Rep. Mark Foley.The resignation last month of Mr. Foley, after he was found to have sent sexually explicit e-mails to young male congressional interns, had already handicapped the party’s campaign to retain its grip on Congress in the elections next month.But the scandal was reignited when the Reverend Anthony Mercieca, a 72-year old priest who now lives in Gozo, off Malta, alleged that he and Mr. Foley shared hotel rooms in the 1960s, during which he massaged the naked altar boy. The pair also swam naked in a lake and frequented saunas together, he claimed.The priest’s admission of a relationship came after Mr. Foley forwarded Rev. Mercieca’s name to prosecutors on Wednesday. Mr. Foley, who has been receiving treatment for alcoholism since he resigned his seat in the House of Representatives last month, is subject to criminal and congressional investigations.A lawyer representing Mr. Foley claimed shortly after the resignation that his client had been molested as a boy by a “clergyman.” This month, Mr. Foley’s criminal defense lawyer, David Roth, said his client did not blame “the trauma” for the e-mails.Rev. Mercieca said he was in a drug-induced fog on one occasion when a sexually inappropriate encounter might have taken place.The priest said he had a relationship with Mr. Foley but he was adamant that he had not abused the boy. “We trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers,” he said.“I was going through a nervous breakdown,” the priest said.”I was taking pills, tranquilizers — they affected my mind a little bit.”The archdiocese of Miami, rocked by a scandal over priests sexually abusing children, said it would investigate Mr. Foley’s claims when it was formally notified of his complaints. Rev. Mercieca said he had never been accused of abusing juveniles in any of the parishes where he served.During his time at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lake Worth, Florida in 1967, Rev. Mercieca was close to Mr. Foley’s family. Yesterday, the priest was perplexed about why Mr. Foley sought to “destroy” him.

Priest Admits Romps With Foley But Denies Sexual Relations

Priest Admits Romps With Foley But Denies Sexual Relations

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