Loss of parish priest

Once again the Curia has managed to catch us off guard, by making its move to relocate Fr Emanuel Camilleri, our parish priest, from our community (Sta Marija church, Birkirkara) after only four years of service.

As one of the parishioners and also being personally involved in the parish, I was very surprised and shocked at the news, as was the community in general.

Fr Emanuel is a very versatile person, who is capable of investing time in community building and also overseeing countless tasks involved in our area, such as the restoration of our church which is of historic importance and the building of the parish priest accommodation which is long overdue. I feel that this is not the best time for a change in leadership as we are now beginning to see the fruit of all the hard work involved.

I know that the Curia has made its decision with regard to this move, but I also know that since we do live in a democratic country I couldn't let this go by without sharing my views on the matter.