A diocesan commission for children

Summer 2007 might well be remembered as the first step in the foundation of the Diocesan Commission for Children in Malta. In the spirit of the Diocesan Synod, Archbishop Paul Cremona seriously undertook the initiative to create this commission after having carried out all the necessary planning.

Our new archbishop distinguished himself as an attentive listener, who is deeply aware that you know people's minds only after having listened seriously to what they have to say. No one has an X-ray of another person's mind unless one tries to discover patiently what is in the other person's mind.

This basic principle is valid not only for adults and youngsters, but also for children, who have their own ideas, their own vision and their own way of sharing them with others. And the archbishop must have had this in mind when he decided to listen, together with his cooperator Fr Charles Cordina and with Sonja Camilleri, as coordinator, to what children in Malta have to say on spiritual and liturgical topics, as so clearly explained in the Diocesan Synod documents.

To her credit Mrs Camilleri was the first Commissioner for Children in Malta, and her experience is surely a great asset for the archdiocese.

So far three meetings have taken place this summer, in Qawra, Marsascala and Birzebbuga, with children from several parishes. Three other meetings are to take place in the near future. In his charismatic style, Mgr Cremona always keeps so close to children in his talks and homilies and, whenever opportune, makes very good use of the question and answer method.

As a rule Mgr Cremona opens his address to the children present at such meetings, together with their parish priests and catechists, stressing that God is the Father and we are his children. Quoting St John the evangelist, the archbishop says: "Whatever came to be in Him, found life... any who did accept him he empowered to become children of God" (Jn 1: 4-12).

He very clearly explains to children, and to catechists: "We who were formed in His image should be called, and be, His children... as we address Him in truth as 'Our Father'."

During these six meetings in various localities in Malta, held with the archbishop, in the open air, the children, guided by their respective catechists, have to answer, in groups, five questions based on five important documents in the Diocesan Synod, and their 25 answers are then given to the archbishop for his evaluation and deep reflection. The five basic documents are: The Community; Catechesis - Formation; Evangelisation; Solidarity; and Sacred Liturgy.

At this stage, it is opportune to remember that, on December 13, 1994, Pope John Paul II wrote his Letter to Children on his memories of Christmas, and the importance of First Communion; he recalled child martyrs and child visionaries as examples of the "Gospel of Children".

In his other letter to families, John Paul II wrote that children "instinctively turn away from hatred and are attracted by love". That was why he asked children to "take upon yourselves the duty of praying for peace".

Like Pope John Paul, Mgr Cremona is a firm believer that the prayers of children have enormous power, and this is a model for grown-ups, who ought to pray with the simple and complete trust of the young.