Aftermath of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Malta (2)

Pope Benedict's visit is now over but its ripple effect is ongoing. It is as if Jesus is still walking on the Mediterranean Sea same as He walked on the Sea of Galilee.

Many were sceptical about the charisma of this Pope but, as Vanessa Macdonald said, she was sure the majority of people would change their mind after meeting the Pope, same as she does after she interviews certain personalities in person. Personally I can say that, same as many others, I was instantly struck by the exceptional qualities of this person as soon as he appeared on TV after the Habemus Papam announcement. His smile and body language reflected the love and gentleness of Jesus and his first words projected the humility of great men.

This was recently confirmed not only through the unique welcome of the Maltese people but even more profoundly through his empathy when meeting the abuse victims. The evident great spiritual impact on Lawrence Grech must already be bearing fruit. He was such a living witness when immediately after the meeting he spoke of how much he was impressed to be in the presence of this Holy Father humiliating himself due to a shameful situation he had nothing to do with. This problem is rightly being addressed by all parties concerned considering that abuses from members of the clergy account for only a fraction of abuses coming from other persons including parents and teachers. Mr Grech himself emphasised that talking about this unfortunate episode was not in any way meant to minimise the value of the precious social work carried out by the Church.

The people in Malta spoke. So did the Lord. Recently Fr George Dalli in a TV debate referred to the Pope's comment a couple of days following his visit to Malta, that one should visit Malta if one is to experience the faith of a people. Andrew Azzopardi's reaction was: What if they listen to local political debates or see local behaviour in festas? I beg to differ. Does not Dr Azzopardi watch foreign political debates? Has he ever been to festas where tourists are amazed at the enthusiasm and joyful outward expression of the people's faith? Of course there is always room for improvement, for instance when it comes to more creativity and changes to existing structures, but the Christian foundation is solid.

A lot of humility is essential to recognise this reality. That is why His Holiness Pope Benedict lived the experience and spoke about it with pride.