Young people's pastor

Priest and sociologist Fr CHARLES TABONE O.P. says a revival of the Maltese Church will depend on the charisma of its new leader and the extent to which the institution considers young people a priority. He spoke to MASSIMO FARRUGIA at his university office last week.

During one of the many documentaries aired on Italian television after Pope John Paul II's death, a commentator noted that many people had followed the departed Pope but probably fewer listened to his words.

Charles Tabone, the sociologist and Dominican priest whose Sunday Mass is chock-full of young people, agreed, explaining this could be said for young people who, responding to the genuine enthusiasm of the Holy Father, probably avoided controversial doctrinal issues.

"The attachment between John Paul II and the young generation was perhaps an emotional bond outshining any intellectual or moral controversy. It was the Pope's persona and his charisma, coming from a strong relationship with God, that led so many young people to manifest their beliefs openly," Fr Tabone said.

So John Paul II gave young people the possibility of expressing their faith in the way they know how and young people found an expression of faith that matched their culture.  

"Though human beings are rational, people often go by their feelings first and only rationalise about their actions later. So it would be useless trying to attract young people to the Church by being dogmatic. Young people want facts and they will only come closer to the Church if it is close to what they are feeling."

Working closely with young people, Fr Tabone sees his pastoral work as plunging himself into the "sea" of conflicts which today's youth experience continually.

Having been the first on his appointments list at university last Wednesday, I made sure not to turn up late. As we greeted each other, a student approached Fr Tabone and asked me if I could spare a few minutes as he needed to have a quick word with the priest. I conceded, and, as the "brief chat" took more than 45 minutes, it became evident the conversation was not about academic issues.

"I don't remain in my office only for administrative work," Fr Tabone said, justifying the lengthy conversation. "People come here to speak and it is my duty to listen."

Fr Tabone's smiling eyes shone beneath his large spectacles as we spoke cordially. I recalled the telephone conversation we had had when I first asked to interview him two days earlier. He had mentioned the Mass organised by the youths on the day of the Pope's funeral, saying how surprised he had been that so many people had turned up when the activity was advertised just by word of mouth and through some e-mails. At a later stage there were some announcements on radio.

"It was a pity that we did not organise a night vigil on a national level. We missed an opportunity. Some young friends of mine were sending me text messages to ask where they could find an open church," Fr Tabone said, explaining that many young people had spontaneously prayed for the Pope because they had "God in their hearts".

John Paul II had insisted that young people should become a priority for the Church. He did give them priority in his words and deeds.

"I've been saying this for the Maltese Church. Unfortunately, issues are presented too rationally sometimes. That is why young people, and not only, find it hard to relate to the institution. People want facts and need an expression of faith which they can relate to."

But isn't the Church's teaching absolute and categorical in itself? How could Catholic principles be translated into different lifestyles when the Pope himself had made a clear, categorical distinction between good and evil in the contemporary world? Could adapting faith to culture lead young people to pick and choose parts of the Church's teaching on the assumption that not every principle reflected absolute or universal truth?

"I don't think that young people do that," Fr Tabone said. "Perhaps the Pope could not have said otherwise, considering his position as the head of the Church. He could have left space for discussion on certain issues that are in conflict with popular practices, which is what I hope the next Pope will do. But I am not surprised that John Paul II was strict and blunt in defining morality. Who will do that if not the Pope?"

Fr Tabone said that sociologically, the price paid by every institution for being one, is that of being conservative. "It does not bother me that the leaders of the institution are conservative. But when it comes to pastoral work, you cannot start from rigidity. Should you dictate principles to young people and expect them to abide by them? It's not the way forward. You have to walk with people and help them move towards the ideal."

Fr Tabone mentioned sexuality, an "immeasurably tough" territory for young people. "The world we live in is hedonistic and permissive. Most young people will have a conflict between their actions and the principles they were brought up in. Only when you accompany people, helping them understand themselves and their sexual drive and that they are vulnerable and succumb, and open your arms to them every time they need help, will they come to an understanding of the meaning behind the unchanging moral principles.

"I constantly meet youngsters who tell me: 'Now I understand why the Church advises us not to engage in pre-marital sex. I have found the person I want to spend my life with and I wish I could have saved what I did with others for her alone'."

I remarked that moral issues such as contraception, gay rights, women priests and married priests are still pending for many Catholics. Had he encountered gays who feel rejected by the Church or girls who want to become priests but feel deprived of the possibility?

Fr Tabone said he has been approached, as any other priest, by cohabiting couples who felt aggrieved by the Church's teaching on cohabitation, particularly when they had not got married in church because something impeded them from doing so.

"It is our duty to help these people integrate into the community, notwithstanding their situations. This is possible. We need to show pastoral concern towards these people - towards the girl who says she cannot feel accepted by a Church that does not allow women to be ordained - while following the teachings of the Church. They are still God's beloved children. I sympathise with people like this girl and I show them that I feel uncomfortable that they feel aggrieved.

"Yet the discussion is not yet closed and the Church could develop. It would not be right to leave the Church because of a single issue. One could still make the best out of the situation. When life gives you lemon, make lemonade. Girls could still contribute a lot to the development of mankind and the Church itself, even though they are not priests."

Fr Tabone said he was very grateful towards the Archbishop. Maltese society at large was indebted to him. However, at this moment in time the Maltese Church needed a leader who would fill it with new enthusiasm, being the expression of genuine Christian hope.

"Things cannot be done simply on an administrative or rational level. It is one thing doing something out of obligation and another doing it out of feeling. You feel because you believe. It is your faith that fills you with enthusiasm.

"We have to discard the idea that being emotional is something negative. The late Pope was very emotional. The Church needs a leader who transmits faith through emotion and whose gleaming eyes and kind and convincing words appeal to today's society, especially young people," he said.