Gozo processions dispute resolved

The bitter dispute between the two parishes in Victoria over who should be permitted to hold a Good Friday procession was resolved yesterday after St George's Basilica accepted "in the interests of religion" and "out of loyalty" to their pastoral leader a request by Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi to hold its religious manifestation on another day.

In a letter sent immediately to St George's Basilica's parish priest Mgr Joseph Farrugia, Mgr Cauchi said he was overjoyed at the news that the parish had accepted his proposal for a solution. "This was undertaken with the utmost sense of maturity that does credit to the Christian community," the bishop said.

"I appreciate that, in recent days when the mediation talks have been going on, you have always tried to understand my anxiety and worry and you did everything you could to send clear signals of your filial love towards me," he said.

Reading a statement during a press conference in Gozo yesterday, St George's Basilica's legal representative Emanuel Mallia said its unanimous decision to accept the bishop's proposal, made on Sunday morning, was taken on the basis of two basic non-negotiable principles: the wholehearted loyalty that priests should have towards their bishop and that the only interest parties should have is a religious one.

In a clear reference to Cathedral parish priest Mgr Joe Vella Gauci, whose vitriolic attacks on the bishop in the press prompted fears for Mgr Cauchi's health and safety in recent days, St George's Basilica said: "Maturity, wisdom and pastoral good dictates that, first and foremost, whether you agree with the bishop's decision or not, every discussion held with him should stay in the room it is held. Any other approach, including the deplorable verbal attack directed against Christ's representative in Gozo, only does harm and shames the person who makes it".

The dispute arose three weeks ago when the Cathedral parish and the Leone Band Club objected after the bishop accepted a request from St George's Basilica to hold a procession on the morning of Good Friday, before its own procession later that afternoon.

Mgr Vella Gauci said last week that his superior's decision to grant permission ran contrary to an agreement reached in 1976 between the respective band clubs to hold Good Friday processions on alternate years.

Mgr Vella Gauci handed in his resignation in protest, though the bishop did not accept it and Mgr Cauchi later told the parish priest in a letter that if there was something for which he (the bishop) should apologise, then he would have no hesitation in doing so.

Two days ago, on Palm Sunday, the Cathedral parish priest and Leone Band Club reaffirmed their stand in a rally.

In the midst of this dispute, the police had turned down the request from St George's Basilica for a morning procession and an appeal was due to be heard yesterday until the decision was taken to hold the procession on another day.

St George's Basilica said yesterday it appeared that its pastoral thought had not gone down well with certain quarters in Victoria. "For this, it appears that the bishop was harshly criticised in the media by the Cathedral parish priest. In the humble opinion of all those gathered here today, he (the parish priest) should have known better."

The St George's parish therefore unanimously agreed that its procession shall now be held tomorrow at 6 p.m. and the authorities have already granted the necessary permits.

The parish was also praised for its cooperation in a letter from one of the main mediators in this dispute, Fr Eddie Zammit.