'Man of spirit' hailed as good choice

Archbishop-elect Dominican friar Paul Cremona is likely to have to deal with a high level of expectation from his clergy, judging from the way his appointment to head the Maltese Church was warmly welcomed yesterday.

"Paul Cremona, firstly, is a man of spirit, someone who is in synch with the Church and what it should be, but who is also in tune with the pulse of the people," said Rev Prof. René Camilleri, a theologian who has often been outspoken in his views on Church issues. "I believe he is a good choice."

Another Dominican, Fr Mark Montebello, known for being at loggerheads with Mgr Cremona's predecessor, went one step further: "I think he is the best choice for the job. The Maltese people are privileged to have this man as their Bishop. He is human, a joker but also a deeply spiritual man."

Fr Montebello had been ordered by Archbishop Mercieca not to speak about Church issues for six months in May 2005, following negative comments he had made about the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Equally welcoming were the current Archbishop for Gozo, Mario Grech and his predecessor Nikol Cauchi.

Mgr Cauchi said he did not know Mgr Cremona very well but that incidentally he met him a few weeks back, when probably both still did not know that he was destined to get the job. "It was a very good experience to be able to share a few thoughts with him. I believe he is a good choice," he said.

Mgr Grech said the appointment of a new bishop was something to celebrate in itself. However, echoing Fr Camilleri's view, he described Mgr Cremona as a "man of spirit".

His best friend since their teens, the Auxiliary Bishop of Tirana-Durres, Mgr George Frendo also emphasised this point, describing him as a deeply spiritual person. There is a great parallel between the careers of the two men. They entered the Dominican order as novices together at the age of 16, were ordained together and studied in Rome together. Finally, just this September, Mgr Frendo was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Tirana-Durres.

Most of the people interviewed agreed that the challenge facing the Maltese Church and consequently the Maltese bishops is that of making the Church relevant to contemporary Maltese society.

Mgr Frendo said he feels that generally speaking, the Church has not fully realised yet how much Maltese society has changed in the last 20 years. "The Church somehow has to find ways how to dialogue with this emerging culture."

In this connection, Mgr Cauchi drew an analogy from the Pope's recent visit to Turkey, saying that dialogue with other Christian faiths in Malta and with Islam was a key concern. Similarly, in reference to reconnecting the Church with the people, Fr Camilleri said: "Without being offensive towards certain people, he is not a Curia man, a man of officialdom, but he comes with long pastoral experience. We are going through a time where we need a person who is in synch with what we stand for but who also has his feet on the ground."

Fr Montebello said the new archbishop will face some people who make a distinction between Christ and the Church. "He has already faced this issue in his first press conference," he said, and I was happy because he did not skirt the issue but addressed it directly.

"We were used to seeing these questions being avoided. Instead he dealt with them and that is how it should be. We have been crying out for this for years. It's all hope."