Archbishop Paul Cremona has met three prominent clergymen who have criticised the Church leadership, for what one of them describes today as a “fruitful, frank and open discussion about the problems affecting the Church”.

Fr Joe Borg, a media expert whose column in The Sunday Times of Malta sparked a public debate on Mgr Cremona’s stewardship, writes again today categorically denying the allegation of an “attempted coup” made by former minister Lino Spiteri in Times of Malta yesterday.

The other two priests involved in the meeting were theologian Fr René Camilleri, the head of the Church’s secretariat for catechesis who has spoken of a “leadership vacuum”, and Fr Joe Inguanez, head of the Church’s research institute Discern who has written about the institutional leadership needing a shakeup.

“He (the Archbishop) gladly acknowledged that our contributions to the media emanate from our love for the Church and appreciated our good intentions,” Fr Borg writes.

“It was an example of the fraternal spirit of respect that should characterise the relationship between priests and their bishop.”

Another meeting will be held in the coming days.

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