Silence endangers Church's existence - Gozo bishop

The Church would be "endangering its very existence" if it did not continue to get its message across, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said yesterday.

Mgr Grech said the Church could not remain silent even though factors like apathy and dampened spirits made it more difficult to evangelise.

The bishop stressed that the Church could not afford to be sedentary in the face of these challenges, and it had to move away from church parvis and into the streets and homes to spread the Word.

Addressing priests during the exchange of New Year greetings at the Gozo Seminary yesterday, Mgr Grech set them the challenge to broadcast the Word of God to those seeking answers.

He acknowledged the help of his predecessor, Bishop Nikol Cauchi, who had served as a compass to lead the diocese in past years. However, today he was witnessing signs of fatigue, routine and congestion in several aspects of ecclesiastical life.

Mgr Grech also touched upon the fragmentation of the family, which was experiencing an identity crisis and referred to a record number of 49 cases waiting to start the process of annulment before the Church's Ecclesiastical Tribunal. Apart from these, there were another 34 pending cases.

Since he was concerned that couples were having to wait a long time for their case to be heard, the bishop said another judge and four auditors had been added to the tribunal's staff.