Church Politics : the Elephant Is Definitely in the Room

Malta Independent
August 18, 2014

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-08-18/leader/church-politicsthe-elephant-is-definitely-in-the-room-6241353728/

Every institution has its own politics, and the Maltese Church falls squarely in that state of fact. Last week, a former parish priest vented his frustration at being asked to resign his post because the Church was being held to ransom by some parishioners and feast organisers. All too often it takes an incident such as this to point out the elephant in the room. Fr Emanuel Camilleri, who was at Mgarr parish, blurted out that the Church was in a leadership crisis.

Initially, many were flummoxed, it was a bolt out of the blue. But when this newspaper tried to speak to the Curia to get a reaction the next day, we were told that there was no comment to be made. That same day, we were given a full length rebuttal by one of the parish committees that organise the feast there. We were told that the letter was given the ok by the Church.

Still, all seemed to peter out. But yesterday, Fr Camilleri’s beliefs were echoed word for word by the respected Fr Joe Borg in his column in The Times. Fr Borg also calls the issue the “elephant in the room”. He clearly states his doubts about whether the current leadership is up for the job. But before that, he tackles the issue of the Church being out of touch and getting its priorities wrong.

And this is where the main problem lies. Pope Francis has clearly rejuvenated the Catholic faith on a global level. You could also say that his actions – however small – have gone towards restoring people’s faith in humanity.

But the Catholic Church in Malta seems to be rudderless. It knows that it must do more to be a relevant and positive moral force in our community, but it seems to have no clue where to start. From the off – let us be clear in stating that the Catholic Church continues to be a pillar of our society, and much good is done in terms of spirituality and charity. But, it continues to be eroded day after day.

The church has had enough time for soul searching. It is time to act. There is no need for a census or a questionnaire or feedback. The realities are out there. The church needs to become part of the community. Put black on white and in the simplest terms possible, the Church needs to recognise that while it has its own internal politics, the Church itself it is not a political force any longer. And in today’s world where people need an environment to celebrate joy, socialise, be guided, be accepted, loved and inspired, the Church will just continue to haemorrhage, unless it changes its ways of doing things.

The inspiration for Fr Borg was none other than Bishop Mario Grech – usually more known for his fire and brimstone homilies. Yet it is he who has called for a ‘blood transfusion’. He went on to blame himself and the Church for the current state of affairs. But is it a case of Mgr Grech realising that the Church must change? Or does he feel that the Church needs more zeal? Whichever the case may be, the elephant is definitely in the room. The debate which will ensue will put the Church in the spotlight, and it is perhaps, the best thing that could happen. Only by talking and accepting that change is needed, can we move forward as a society. Explaining this in the rawest of terms, the Maltese Church has an identity crisis and is demoralised. It is the Maltese people who need to tell her where she should start. Just as the Church has helped our society to be what it is, society needs to now help the Church become what it should be.