Where is the Church anyway?

Matthew Urpani (Ed.) Faith in Pluralistic Malta, University Chaplaincy, 2011, 113 pp.

Malta appears to be passing through an interesting phase. At present, there seem to be competing Maltese identities: on the one hand, an inherited national identity related to people’s attachment to the Church and the Catholic religion and, on the other, an increasingly vociferous identity driven by individualised and secular values.

Against this background, it is with a warm feeling in my heart that I review the publication Faith in Pluralistic Malta. This text, presenting seven thought-provoking papers to the public, is the end-point of a positive and encouraging year-long process initiated and sustained by the University Chaplaincy.

The book is meant to be a contribution to efforts of dialogue within the Church and in the wider Maltese society. It is dedicated to the youths the Chaplaincy seeks to serve.

As one of the papers sustains, at present, one could perhaps speak of a process of religious individualisation, rather than of secularisation. Fr Fabio Attard shows that, in our increasingly ‘liquid’ societies, we notice the presence of post-modern seekers.

We also increasingly see that a good number of people are on a quest for a personal creed that gives meaning to their unique existence, according to their experiences, interests and aspirations.

Rather central to the interests of many of the authors is an analysis of the ‘liquidity’ present in our society: the changing legal and social context (Ruth Farrugia), the shifting trends in Maltese social mores affecting family life (Angela Abela and Chantelle Fenech), and the varied questions on contemporary forms of poverty and social exclusion (Patricia Bonello).

This emphasis enables the reader to contemplate the many and complex existential questions raised by the increasing plurality of life choices in our midst.

It is a pity that some of the papers do not venture far beyond statistical and phenomenological descriptions. Another paper ad­dresses the specific question of the Church and gay persons (Fr Kevin Schembri and Mario Gerada).

It highlights aspects of the ongoing complex and multi-faceted, controversial and divisive debate and shows that dialogue is possible and involves real people on all sides.

Other papers are more generic in tone and seek to address the question of the relationship between the Church and different facets of society, and the pastoral orientation of the same Church.

It is observed that, while a considerable part of the population still operate through a non-secular mentality, there is evidence of both secular and post-secular trends, with the latter showing more persistent signs.

Here, it is noted that our young people are not turning to secular rationalism; they rather feel lost and unsure. The guiding meta­phor here has to do with the person who is on a journey.

We are gradually moving away from a model which depicts a believer as receiving one’s religious identity from the community within which one has grown up, and within which one complies with rules and practices that regulate religious observance and protect the transmission of belief, towards a pattern which has been described in terms of two biblical images: that of the pilgrim, who follows a personal spiritual journey with a number of stages, and that of the convert, who chooses the faith to which she belongs.

The aspiration to wholeness or ‘fullness’ remains throughout. Many search for that whose name they are unable to pronounce but for which they long in a profound manner.

In this scenario, the way forward was indicated through the entire process which the publication represents: it bears the name ‘dialogue’.

The Church is called to enter into a dialogue where a willingness to listen and understand, an emphasis on the importance of common action even, when world-views are different, and a respect of the other’s freedom, are all manifestations of the necessary humility that recognises that we need others as necessary companions even on our way to truth (Fr Paul Pace).

The emphasis in the process is on the learning Church, where dialogue aids the Church in its process of discernment (Fr Joseph Galea Curmi). Here, it is suggested that the manner of prophetic proclamation in a pluralist society is extremely important.

The papers make a number of fecund suggestions addressed towards the Church. These include the ability to live with the unknown without letting oneself be worked up by it, the importance of patience and respect for the process, and the need to engage with the culture through the new fora available.

At a time when the relevance of organised religion in the form of the institutional Church is being increasingly questioned even while people are still concerned to nurture the spiritual dimension of life, this publication is highly opportune.

Of course, this book does not provide many answers but it does highlight different important facets of our new age of religious searching. It provides much food for thought as a result of a small yet significant experience of dialogue and reflection.

Perhaps what I would suggest, as a way to further develop this positive and encouraging pro­cess, would be the inclusion, as part of the dialogue process itself, of those to whom the Catholic faith is somewhat foreign and yet who do not want to be absent from reflection about the great questions of our time.

The book is available from the University Chaplaincy.