Fr David Muscat charged with hate speech, pleads not guilty
A court has warned a Catholic priest to be "more prudent" as he faces charges of incitement to hatred or violence over his comments about homosexuality. Fr David Muscat appeared in court on Friday to deny the charges, based on two Facebook posts. In one, the 51-year-old spoke about the possibility that Abner Aquilina, who is accused of the murder of Polish student Paulina Dembska, was gay, bisexual or possessed by the devil and said that “gayness” was worse than being possessed. In another comment, posted underneath a photo showing Aquilina wearing a colourful shirt, Muscat said that he looked like he was just coming back from "gay pride". The outspoken Mosta priest was later issued a formal warning from Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who instructed him to stop making "inflammatory and hurtful comments" or else he could be stopped from exercising his ministry in public. Although the charges were contested, the priest did not contest ownership of the posts or responsibility for the remarks. Magistrate Ian Farrugia rebuked the priest, who also denies misuse of electronic communication equipment. “You’re basically my age. Let’s be more prudent in what we say," the magistrate...