Editorial

Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic visit to Malta on the occasion of the 1,950th anniversary of St Paul's shipwreck here at the dawn of Christianity coincides with the 20th anniversary of the historic occasion when John Paul II became the first Pope to set foot in Malta.

The Apostle Paul proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ to our forebears. Nineteen centuries later, the successor of Peter arrived here on a pastoral visit to preach the same gospel and to confirm the Maltese people in the same faith.

"Throughout my time in Malta," stated John Paul II at the end of his 1990 visit, "I have been impressed by the deep attachment of the Maltese people to their cultural and religious heritage. Your desire to be faithful to this precious legacy as you seek to promote your development for the good of all is certainly a sign of great hope for Malta's future. Your traditions are a wonderful expression of your national character and identity. May they continue to guide your steps and strengthen your resolve."

John Paul II returned in May 2001 as part of an apostolic pilgrimage in the footsteps of St Paul. On that occasion, our people had the joy of witnessing the successor of Paul proclaiming the beatification of Dun Ġorġ Preca, founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine - who, since then, has been canonised, Nazju Falzon and Maria Adeodata Pisani.

Before leaving Malta in 2001, John Paul II said: "At the end of my first visit, I told you that on my return to Rome I would tell the Apostle Paul that the Maltese were 'a good Catholic people'. Now, I shall tell your Patron that you are still doing what he wanted, 'fighting the good fight of the faith; taking hold of the eternal life to which you were called".

Malta will be welcoming Pope Benedict XVI wholeheartedly as was the case with his predecessor. The troubled waters the Church and the Pope are facing should not impair the dimension of his apostolic visit. At the same time, however, Benedict XVI will be visiting a different Malta from the one John Paul II met 20 years ago.

The difference is not limited, for instance, to the fact that statistics show falling numbers of people who go to Church. The Pope will, above all, be visiting and addressing a society that has experienced a rapid social change that has produced various faith challenges, also because of the influence of a secularised culture.

Pope Benedict had the opportunity to hear about today's Malta from the Archbishop himself when Mgr Paul Cremona addressed the Synod of Bishops in October 2008.

On that occasion, Archbishop Cremona said that many of the 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. Often, they stand in fear of speaking openly before this "many times, hostile culture".

However, he added, "we need to go out of this traumatic experience to enter into a new evangelisation. We have to help the faithful recognise that that kind of Church does not exist anymore and it cannot be proposed again in this changed world. We cannot continue comparing our reality to that reality."

The Church in Malta and society are therefore very eager to hear the message the Holy Father has for them, perhaps especially for their younger generations, at such a moment in time.