Controversy over removal of Cathedral cannons

Heritage Malta recently informed the Gozo Cathedral parish priest that the cannons at the cathedral main door are to be placed in one of the museums in Gozo.

According to Heritage Malta, their experts have revealed that the cannons, in Malta and Gozo, which date back to the times of the Order of St John in Malta, are suffering irreversible damage as a result of their being exposed to outdoor elements. A letter was recently sent to the cathedral parish office stating that it is "the intention of Heritage Malta to remove the two cannons found outside the cathedral to be placed on show in one of the museums in Gozo".

Dr Michael Grech, on behalf of Bishop Nikol Cauchi and the Cathedral Chapter, wrote a letter to Heritage Malta stating that they have requested guidance from the Ecclesiastical Authorities and that until a response is received the cannons are not to be removed. The letter also insisted that the cannons are situated on private property, and if unilateral steps are taken they will resort to legal action.

Dr Alfred Grech said that the cannons have no purpose in front of a church. He told The Sunday Times that cannons, which are a symbol of war and violence, and the church, which is a place of prayer and reflection, do not go together on a matter of principle.

"Cannons look better on our bastions and in front of the many palaces in Valletta and Mdina, rather than in front of churches. So in principle the decision to remove them from in front of churches was correct and sound," he insisted.

He also said that he does not believe that the cannons belong to the church. "They have nothing to do with religious celebrations or attracting more people to the faith of Christ. So why does the Cathedral Chapter have to have a say in such a decision?" He added that the decision to remove the cannons from the churches shows some maturity in the choice of embellishment and should be supported with as good a decision as to where they should be displayed.

Frederick Azzopardi, MP, and former president of the cathedral parish council, on the other hand, insisted that the cannons, which have become part of the cathedral itself, should not be removed from its main door. "The cannons do not appear to be damaged, apart from a little rust on the carriage underneath them. When the cannons were built they were made for the outdoors, " he said.

Victoria councillor Samuel Azzopardi believes that Heritage Malta has acted very arrogantly in its arbitrary and amateurish decision with regard to the two cannons in front of the cathedral. "As a national agency responsible for heritage in the Maltese islands, it should have known better," he said.

Expressing his doubt as to whether the cannons will be placed in a museum, he said that the situation is similar to when the national authorities had collected prehistoric findings from Gozo, claming that they would be displayed at the Citadel archaeology museum, only to be kept in boxes in a government garage.

"Heritage Malta seems to be concerned only about these cannons while simultaneously it has neglected all the heritage sites in Gozo," he said. "It is a shame that while the agency has allocated huge sums of money for the restoration of Mnajdra and Tarxien Temples, it has not allocated a penny for the restoration of Ggantija, Brockdorf Circle, the Citadel and others," he added.

Gozitan historian Rev. Dr Joseph Bezzina said that it is unbelievable that only just after Malta's accession to the EU, a recently founded government agency is treating the Gozo Cathedral Chapter, which has been in existence for almost 400 years, in such a high handed manner."

As far as I know the Heritage Act established the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage as the regulator of heritage in Malta and Gozo," he said. "Heritage Malta is the operator and I believe that the operator has no right by law to order the transfer of heritage objects from one museum to another, and worse in this case, to an unidentified public museum in Gozo," he insisted.

Gozitan poet Fr George Mercieca told The Sunday Times that he believes it is a shocking bizarre idea to confiscate the bronze cannons of the Gozo Cathedral to store them in a museum where people will not give them a second glance. "they are part of the cathedral, a real landmark, a photo spot for all, especially for tourists," he said.

The president of the Leone Band Club, Dr Michael Caruana, said that the band club supports the archpriest and will not allow anyone to remove what has become by right an integral part of the cathedral. "One does not expect one to remove what has been donated by the government years ago," he insisted.