There are two online petitions concerning the Archbishop. One calls for his removal for “interfering in government decisions”, a reference to the Żonqor Point controversy, the other supporting his “duty and right” to express his opinion like any normal citizen.
But Mgr Charles Scicluna is no ordinary citizen and, so far, no ordinary archbishop either, at least when compared with his predecessors.
His jovial character disguises a very firm determination to speak up on what he feels strongly about and what he sees is wrong.
Mgr Scicluna’s resolute stand on Christian values and his resolve to go it alone if necessary are well known. Ignoring the obvious parallels that could be drawn with the politico-religious dispute of the 1960s, when voting Labour was wrongly declared a mortal sin, this Archbishop has no hang-ups about the past.
Nor is he disheartened by increasing secularism, which, a few months ago, prompted the President to remark that the “Catholic Church is no longer central to our cultural activities”. An unfazed Archbishop candidly replied that a source of light does not have to be in the centre of a room in order to illuminate the entire area.
When he met the Prime Minister soon after his appointment as Archbishop, Mgr Scicluna said he looked forward to collaborating with the government in efforts to promote the natural environment. It was an indication of things to come.
The Archbishop had already shown sensitivity towards the environment when, last September, he joined Birdlife volunteers for a bird-watching session at the very site where, a few days earlier, bird watchers had been beaten up by hunters. It was an expression of solidarity of the first degree.
It should have therefore come as no surprise when Mgr Scicluna lambasted the proposed site for a foreign university at Żonqor Point, an ODZ zone. He rightfully ignored the political controversy and did not shy away from speaking up in clear terms about something he clearly holds close to his heart.
Mgr Scicluna’s firm position on Żonqor led to murmurings of a return to Church ‘interference’ in politics. The most radical reaction was that by a former Cospicua mayor who called on the government to boycott the Church over its Żonqor stand. But the Archbishop’s position was not political, as confirmed a few days later when Pope Francis issued his encyclical Laudato Si’.
That document reflected what Mgr Scicluna had said and added much more about man’s responsibility towards the environment.
The Archbishop took the cue from the Pope’s message and said Christians should promote sustainability and not be scared “of the price you have to pay when you speak up”. He could have been speaking of himself.
Mgr Scicluna’s outspokenness on matters that may involve political controversy reflects a local Catholic Church that is finally shaking off the shackles of the 1960s clash with the Labour Party that left it terribly bruised and immensely sensitive to any criticism of political interference.
That chapter appears to be finally closed, with Mgr Scicluna ready to enter the fray whenever Christian values are involved. He said: “I have learnt that people who criticise you in an intelligent way do you good while those who criticise you maliciously help you to be humble.”
With that argument he wins both ways and so will this country with a spiritual leader who is prepared to act as its social conscience.