In his article ‘Another side of Maurice’ (March 30), Francis Zammit-Dimech referred to my involvement in the 4Ts and my liaison with the late Maurice Caruana Curran to help him start the youth movement.
This tribute to the late judge, inadequate as it is, may serve in some slight measure as a record of the high esteem in which I have always held him.
Maurice and I first met at his family home in Valletta in 1968, soon after the tragic death of his young daughter, Louise.
His face distorted in anguish and his eyes blurred with tears spoke volumes. He was desperately finding a guiding light in the middle of his dark moment.
He perceived the death of his daughter as a death out of season and an outrage against the natural order of things.
From questions he was intermittently asking me about his predicament, I could sense that his Christian faith would, in time, enable him to endure and recover from his traumatic experience.
During my entire visit, Kate, his wife, a graceful and unassuming lady, opted to sit a few feet away from us, in silence and grief-stricken. Regrettably, I was living in London when Kate passed away on August 29, 1976. I cannot recall ever having met their two children, Simone and Paul, during their teenage years.
Maurice Caruana Curran deserves to have a national monument built in his honour in a central place in Valletta
By the time of my first visit, Maurice had already established himself as a leading judge who rendered justice fairly and impartially. Moreover, in July 1965, together with a group of like-minded academics and others steeped in the love of the environment and cultural heritage, he founded Din l-Art Ħelwa. Hence, it was no easy matter for me to ask Maurice whether he would be willing to accept an added responsibility of being the honorary president of a youth movement that was still in its embryonic stage. His response to my request was immediate and positive.
This experience left me in no doubt that Maurice cherished the idea of playing a part in the nurture and development of local youth talent.
I was then acting as a spokesman for a 14-year old St Aloysius College student who had expressed a desire to help him found a national mixed-youth movement. This brilliant and visionary young man was none other than Zammit Dimech, nowadays a household name.
In his article of March 30, he pays a fitting tribute to the man who, on March 30, 1969, was present at the Salesian Hall, in Sliema for the birth, christening and launch of the Teens and Twenties Talent Trust.
Maurice always regarded my father, Carmel, a sergeant major in the CID and a recipient of a Colonial Police Medal on June 8, 1950, as an unsung hero. For Maurice, my father epitomised a combination of integrity, boldness and investigative skills. He heaped praise on my father for his effective investigative role in the Għallis Tower murder case in 1956, the Ġiġa Camilleri murder case in 1960 and others.
I always felt comfortable in Maurice’s presence. He was a man with broad human sympathies, personal charm, and affectionate nature; at the same time, he was gifted with rare qualities of mind, character and spirit.
Maurice’s death, as can be attested by various glowing tributes to date, brought to a close a life of notable achievements and great distinction. Undoubtedly, he is the unforgotten and unforgettable illustrious judge, a civic-minded and cultured gentleman.
Maurice deserves to have a national monument built in his honour in a central place in the capital city of Valletta.
My deepest sympathy goes to his loyal wife, Ċettina, to his much- treasured children, Simone and Paul, and to all his loved ones.
Martin Luther King used to say to his wife Coretta that the moments of despair and doubt were the Good Fridays of life and that even in the darkest moments one can hear the drums of Easter.
May Maurice rest in the eternal peace of the Lord.