Victoria parish council welcomes new archpriest

The council of the cathedral parish in Victoria yesterday welcomed the appointment of Mgr Guzepp Attard as the new archpriest and promised him its full support.

It also thanked outgoing archpriest, Mgr Joe Vella Gauci.

The council urged all parishioners to help Mgr Attard in his mission.

The Leone Philharmonic Society of Victoria, which is closely associated with the Cathedral parish, last week deplored the removal of Mgr Vella Gauci and urged parishioners to show their disapproval in a civil manner. The society expressed surprise at the "absurd" way in which the change of archpriest was carried out, recalling that for the past 40 years, it had been consulted regularly on the choice of spiritual director.

The society deplored the way Mgr Vella Gauci was substituted by "someone who never had any connection with the cathedral parish community". It reaffirmed its unconditional loyalty to Mgr Vella Gauci.