Archbishop Paul Cremona’s resignation should not come as a surprise to most observers. Talk about his possible departure has been circulating for months, amid rumours that Mgr Cremona was suffering from ill-health. In a rare press appearance yesterday, the outgoing archbishop confirmed he succumbed to exhaustion two years ago.
The appointment of Mgr Charles Scicluna – who was brought over from the Vatican – as Auxiliary Bishop two years ago further fuelled speculation that Mgr Cremona might not be in the job until retirement.
It was no secret that many priests were unhappy with the Archbishop’s leadership; this was perhaps made more explicit when well-known columnist and former Curia official Fr Joe Borg wrote in The Sunday Times of Malta last August that the Church was rudderless and demoralised.
When Mgr Cremona replaced Mgr Joseph Mercieca as Archbishop in January 2007 expectations were very high and many of the faithful saw this as an opportunity for the Church’s revival.
Equipped with genuine qualities of kindness and humility, Mgr Cremona was “person centred and not task oriented”, as Fr Joe Borg writes today.
However, his appointment came at a time of religious indifference. It came at a time where an increasing number felt the Church no longer played a role in their lives. Mgr Cremona’s difficult years at the helm were compounded by cases of clerical sex abuse, the introduction of divorce and earlier this year the introduction of civil unions, which gave gay couples the same rights and recognition as married couples.
Such events clouded his memorable events like the canonisation of Malta’s first saint and Pope Benedict’s visit to the island.
Mgr Cremona clearly found the state of affairs too stressful.
There is little doubt Mgr Cremona decided to step down as Archbishop out of his genuine love for the Church and its flock and we wish him well for the future. Hopefully, he will continue to contribute, in his own way, to the strenghtening of the Church in Malta.
The task of the Church now is to look ahead and take this opportunity to renew itself and adapt to the increasingly secular aspect of Maltese society, without of course, deviating from its fundamental principles or doctrine.
Pope Francis will soon appoint Mgr Cremona’s successor and it is important that whoever is tasked with leading the Church in Malta is a good communicator, has leadership qualities, and is able to come to terms with the fact Malta has evolved along the lines of other modern Eurpean secular democracies.
The Catholic Church under Pope Francis is changing and the appointment of a new Maltese Archbishop could well turn out to be a case of having the right person at the right time.
Proof of this change is the document released by the worldwide meeting of Catholic bishops on family issues – which concluded yesterday at the Vatican – and which called for the Church to listen more, to respect people in their struggles and to apply mercy much more widely.
The tone of the document is also different in the way the Church addresses Catholics who are divorced and remarried, gay people, and how it asks for a Church that is always open.
The Maltese Church retains an important role in society. It carries out untold good with the less privileged. But it needs to raise its voice against society’s injustices, growing racism, and yes, must also not shy away from challenging in a constructive manner the government on any policies it believes to be detrimental to society.