Far from limbo!

Ronald Cauchi's letter of May 29 on the baptism of his nephew might give the impression that the child was "denied" the sacrament. At no point was this the case and the child was baptised in Church.

In actual fact, the tone of his first letter of May 21 was in sharp contrast with the generally understanding attitude, I am told, shown by the parents of the child.

The couple chose not to get married in Church. That is their decision and it has to be respected. But it also has its consequences vis-a-vis the practice of the Catholic community.

When the couple asked the parish priest to have their child baptised in the Balzan parish church he directed them to two catechists for a short preparatory course, as is the practice in our parish. They followed the course with interest.

After consulting the Curia, he also told them that in their case, according to a publicised Church directive, the baptism could not be celebrated during Mass.

And this is what happened. The baptism ceremony was held privately.

In our parish, led by Fr Kalcidon Vassallo, we have a thriving community. We have two very well frequented MUSEUM branches, one of the most popular Church-run youth centres attended by several non-Balzan youths, very active Church groups and parish commissions. Far from the limbo lurking in Mr Cauchi's imagination when he wrote his first letter!