Church failure in communication

While It-Torċa, the General Workers' Union Sunday paper, has celebrated its 50th anniversary and Malta Today celebrated its 10th anniversary, the Maltese Diocese's weekly in Maltese Il-Ġens Illum folded and it seems that its printing press is to be decommissioned.

This baffles me. From my reading of the economic indicators, printing in Malta has a comparative advantage over other sectors, yet, am I alone in preferring to print at commercial presses which ready jobs on time and at competitive prices? The faithful of these islands deserve the best service modern means of social communications can offer. Simply put, as the Gospel advises, if those in charge could not make out they should have been replaced and the entity entrusted to those capable of running it at a profit. The Church's weekly could have served a very useful purpose by, for example, having supplements on each and every parish in Malta and their feasts - highlighting the commendable and not giving space to those features or practices which the Maltese Church authorities desire to reform - opportunity was feebly attempted at one time and allowed to pass.

As it is, the faithful have been deprived of what could have offered them a service if properly managed - and the Bishops have to rely now on the commercial or political party newspapers (and Leħen is-Sewwa) to have their utterances printed in the media. Earlier this month, for example, a report of what the Bishop of Gozo said on a pertinent subject was accorded just half a column hidden away on page five of The Sunday Times while some regular contributors or letter writers were granted more high profile coverage and space.

I am not one who frequents parochial assemblies or whatever they are called, nor am in any parochial organisation but I am sure many of us who attend Holy Mass feel that things can be better organised, that is if a certain still pervasive cronyism is done away with.