For a change, joy and hope are in the Malta air. The Vatican has put it there with the announcement that the Pope is appointing Mgr Charles Scicluna as Malta’s Auxiliary Bishop, filling the position vacated almost a year ago with the demise of Mgr Annetto Depasquale. There is joy because Mgr Scicluna is already very popular on the island. He left 17 years ago and over this period has become a key figure in the Vatican structure, doing Malta proud in the process.

For him the Church’s priority should always remain focused on evangelisation – to bring the Gospel as good news and proposing it as such- Lino Spiteri

It is not easy to achieve what Mgr Scicluna has achieved, in a career which has seen him visit countries where the Catholic Church is represented all over the global village. His achievement was due to ability, certainly. But also to factors that go beyond ability. A hint of that was given in his replies to questions put by yesterday’s The Sunday Times.

The Monsignor, whose family hails from Qormi and now resides in Lija, was overjoyed that he is returning home. What will he be doing in assisting Archbishop Paul Cremona to tend his flock? Above all, he would be listening.

“My real wish is to be a good listener,” he told his interviewer. He would live in Malta and gain the right to speak. “But before I speak, I need to listen.”

That is the epitome of a combination of humility and sense. So many people in high places rush into situations and declarations without, first of all, having listened enough to capture the different positions and nuances.

Mgr Scicluna will not do that. For him the Church’s priority should always remain focused on evangelisation – to bring the Gospel as good news and proposing it as such. To do that he has to listen to appreciate why it is not always the case that members of the flock view and understand the Gospel as such.

The appointment of the new auxiliary bishop was also greeted with hope. Hope springs eternal, certainly.

But too often events conspire to make it jaundiced, if not lost completely. That is in part the position of the Catholic Church in Malta. The vast majority of us still see ourselves as Christians. But a chunk of believers have stopped going to church and even moved away from practising in other regards. Sadly, one finds many who have moved away from God.

The scope for evangelisation is huge and many will continue to hope that Mgr Scicluna, carrying the portend of being a carpenter’s son, will accomplish that and succeed where others are failing or not succeeding enough.

There is much scope for fresh efforts to halt the decline in church attendance, for instance, and to bring back faith into our daily lives. Mgr Scicluna said he was eager to be with his people and be a bishop for them – which means giving your life for them.

I take that to be an expression of total commitment. It is not that our bishops are not committed enough. But some events seem to have run away from them. Fresh thinking and application are required. Bishop Charles Scicluna will surely supply them.

Hope is in the air also for what the appointment might mean in the future. In the fullness of time there will be a successor to Paul Cremona. God willing Charles Scicluna will be a strong contender. And if he makes it, who knows, Malta might have the prospect of getting another cardinal.

• As I advised readers of my Sunday Times column yesterday, I shall be interrupting my contributions for a while to recover from an unavoidable commitment on Wednesday. I hope the break will be short.