The Lourdes Philharmonic Society of Paola yesterday filed an application in court to try and stop the parish priest from organising this weekend's feast, claiming he had prevented them from taking part for the last three years in breach of a contract.

The court gave the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Christopher Galea, 24 hours to respond to the allegations. The parish celebrates its feast on the first Sunday after August 15, which is tomorrow.

The society said that Fr Galea, together with parish pastoral councillor Joseph Ellul, had signed a contract dated February 15, 2007.

This was an agreement for them to receive payment for services rendered. Under the contract, Fr Galea was also obliged to consult them about band services.

The society claimed that this year, not only did the priest fail to pay them for services rendered but he also made arrangements with other philharmonic societies from other villages without consulting them first.

His actions were seriously prejudicing the society’s rights. The society had the special and exclusive right to participate in the feast with its band, in precedence over other bands.

The society felt it had no other option but to protect its interests and asked the court to issue an injunction on next year’s feast.