Editorial

The speech Archbishop Paul Cremona made at the Synod of Bishops held in the Vatican may not have gone down well with a number of people in the Church in Malta. Indeed, whispers of criticism were apparently overheard in sacristies and in the corridors of important offices. Archbishop Cremona was evidently not impressed and, in fact, he shared the same thoughts with the public at a press conference he addressed in the Curia just after his return from the Synod.

On both occasions he did two things. He made an analysis of the outdated model of the Church many Maltese subscribe to and then proposed the way forward.

In the words of the Archbishop, many Maltese Catholics adhere to an outdated model of the Church and of its relationship to society. Many Maltese Catholics live in a past that no longer exists. They are nostalgic. They live in fear and shock. Their attitude is "a stumbling block" to the programme of new evangelisation.

Archbishop Cremona did not mince his words:

"Many of our faithful still live in nostalgia of and compare the present situation with the model of the Church that was present 30 to 40 years ago. Since the Church has not remained in a privileged position as it was then, they live in an atmosphere of shock when the Church, or its pastors, are challenged. Often they stand in fear of speaking openly before this, many times, hostile culture."

The Archbishop's analysis of the situation propelled him to propose a new model for the Church:

"We have to propose a new model of the Church and the model which corresponds most to today's reality is the primitive Christian community as it is described in chapters two and four of the Acts of the Apostles and brought to life in the other writings of the New Testament. We have to compare the Church today to, and shape it on, that community."

Archbishop Cremona is proposing a Church which is more charismatic than institutional. This is a Church close to the people who are protagonists of pastoral action and not objects of the pastoral plans worked out at the centre. In the new model, the people are not just counted; they count. They act and not just obey. As Archbishop Cremona said in the press conference mentioned above, the Church should be made up of small communities where the Word of the Lord and the Breaking of the Bread could be shared through the personal experiences of those who had encountered the Lord.

The Archbishop is already putting this model into action. He is more present among his flock than among officials at the Curia. He is present in the hearts of people more than he is present in the heart of institutions. He listens. He cares. He instils enthusiasm.

Some may mistakenly accuse him of lack of leadership, while he is proposing a new style of leadership.

The nostalgic Catholics criticise the new style and model. But it is welcomed by those Catholics who enthusiastically live the present moment and are full of hope for the future. Even unbelievers are likely to, whether already or eventually, find themselves able to communicate with such a Church whose strategy is dialogue instead of the imposition of sins.

Archbishop Cremona should move forward undeterred.