The Archbishop`s Curia said it was hoping that the cancellation of this year`s feast of St Joseph at Kalkara - ordered last year after incidents that occurred between supporters of two band clubs during the feast - should act as an incentive for the feast to be celebrated in 2003.

As soon as the band clubs drew up an agreement on their role in the feast, it would be considered and if found to be acceptable the feast would be allowed to go ahead, the Curia said.

In recent years the Curia has taken the drastic decision to cancel feasts where rivalry between band clubs led to incidents or when there was discord between them. One of the feasts to suffer this fate was that of Christ the King in Paola.

More recently, the Curia announced it was cancelling the feast of St Joseph at Kalkara after incidents broke out during the feast last July. Supporters of the rival societies - the St Joseph Musical Society and the Sacra Famiglia Musical Society - had engaged in insults and thrown objects at each other.

In a statement yesterday, the Curia said that it was with great regret that it had to cancel the celebration of any feast.

It explained that it had been left with no alternative but to do so in this case, as the right environment for a Christian feast did not exist in the parish concerned.

Cancellation was one of three `remedies` ordered by the Curia following the Kalkara incidents.

The two musical societies of Kalkara were also asked to make a public apology and to draw up an agreement by Christmas this year on their participation in the parish feast.

A Curia spokesman said no agreement had yet been submitted to the Curia for consideration, although the clubs were holding meetings in an attempt to iron out differences. The spokesman said the two societies had disassociated themselves from the incidents.

The Curia also pledged to support the societies in implementing its requests. It said it was committed to doing everything in its power to ensure that feasts were free of trouble, which marred their Christian nature.

In an incident that may be unrelated, police yesterday said green paint had been thrown on the door of the Kalkara parish priest`s office during the night. A magisterial inquiry is under way.