The Administrative Secretary of the Church has just presented the Maltese Church’s pastoral and financial report for 2009. Mgr Anton Portelli was quoted as saying that “the difficulty is that the reserve we had over the years is about to finish”. Portelli went on to say that the Church “foresees that we’re going to have huge problems to meet expenses”.

This is obviously not good news for Maltese society as the Church is one of its key pillars and has always had an important presence and role in the development of this country. The Church is also very active in various sectors for the benefit of people in need, and has contributed significantly towards the well-being of our country. It is a role which I hope it will be able to maintain.

In the light of the financial realities being faced by the Church, I am absolutely baffled by the decision taken earlier this year by the Church authorities to embark on a spending spree of millions of euros to expand Church schools when there is no need for such expansion.

Coupled with all these millions of euros to be pumped in by the Church to build new schools (from where?), we also have a government commitment to annually fund millions of euros for the running costs of such new Church schools.

It is a well-known fact that Malta does not need any more new schools. With the decrease in the birth rate over the past decade and the construction of various government and independent schools, there is a sufficient supply of schools for our long-term needs.

I therefore appeal to the Archbishop to intervene directly in this matter as he has been clearly misguided by those around him. Going into such expensive building projects at a time when the Church is admitting that it is on the brink of financial collapse, is something which goes against the grain of a discernment process meant to lead to choices for the common good.

We can only assume that if the Church does indeed go ahead with the school expansion programme, it would be requesting either the government and/or ordinary citizens to fund the millions of euros needed to build the schools.

While I am – as a Catholic – supportive of all the initiatives taken in other spheres by the Church (including education services already provided though its existing schools), I cannot support a decision to build new Church schools when there is no need for them.

It is widely expected that the new Church schools will mainly result in a shift of students from state to Church schools. Keeping in view the heavy investment (from taxpayer’s money) made by the government over the past years into the construction of new schools, why should the government be funding the new Church schools?

Regrettably, there has been hardly any objection from the political parties to the Church’s proposal to commit the government to these millions of euros per year. Malta is a secular country, and the distinction between Church and political society needs to be maintained as a state of fact, and not through lip service.

In a business organisation, no one in his right senses would agree to a proposal to fund a project by a third party which is itself declaring that it is almost bankrupt, particularly when that project will adversely impact the investment made by that organisation itself.

In anticipation of reactions by Church spokesmen that they had no choice in the circumstances as a result of the phasing out of the Common Entrance examinations, I see no reason why students cannot be allowed to join Church schools by lot at the secondary level entry point; rather than by lot at the primary school entry point of the new schools. This is an extremely tenuous and groundless justification for the proposed spending spree.

The Archbishop and the government are still in time to avoid shackling this country with a whole financial mess whose burden would have to be suffered by ordinary taxpayers over the years to come. I sincerely hope that common sense can prevail.

In the meantime, I will continue to gladly donate money for the Church’s various worthwhile activities and initiatives in Maltese society. But I will definitely not be contributing a single cent for this act of folly if the Church persists in the implementation of its schools expansion programme.

I believe in providence. But I do not believe in reckless behaviour which dissipates what has come through providence. That is not a Gospel virtue.

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