Archbishop Charles Scicluna has used a pair of magic scissors to cut the connection between God and a Valletta parish priest who is accused of stealing €80,000 worth of sacred paintings and engravings.
The Interficiam De Pudore, or Cutting of Shame, is the worst punishment that that can be handed out to priests, and is reserved for the most severe crimes against the Catholic Church by its own clergymen.
After receiving permission from Pope Francis himself, Mgr Scicluna visited the accused priest – Fr Deo Debono – at his home, and performed the Interficiam by using the Sancti Axicia Iustitiae, or Holy Scissors of Righteousness, to slice through the air above the disgraced priest’s head.
Following the procedure, Debono will no longer be able to commune directly with God.
“It never gets easier,” Mgr Scicluna said after emerging from Fr Debono’s room and wiping the scissors on his robe, adding that this is the third such Cutting he has performed in his career.
“These kinds of crimes simply can’t go unpunished. Sexually abusing kids is one thing, but stealing valuable works of art is a whole other ball game. It’s a good thing he didn’t steal any gold. The punishment for that is so bad I can’t even talk about it.”
Scicluna added that the cutting took place before Debono – who has reportedly confessed to the crime – was formally charged by police as a precautionary measure.
“God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes those ways include providing art thieves with fake passports and tickets to Bogotá. We just can’t take that risk,” he said.
