Today (May 13) marks the 132nd     anniversary from the birth of the late archbishop, Mgr Sir Michael Gonzi. Depending from the way one looks at his stance, he was either a hero or had misjudged the change of times.

Originally he was a Labour adherent and was elected Labour senator in the Legislative Assembly in 1921 but in 1924 he resigned to be ordained as the fifth Bishop of Gozo. Eventually, late in 1943 he was made Archbishop of Malta.

Gonzi’s tenure as Archbishop of Malta was marred by strained relations with the Labour Party particularly its leader Dom Mintoff. Trouble stated in 1948 when Mintoff was still deputy leader of his party. The key issue became whether the State should be secularised in line with modern parameters, or whether the Church should retain its privileged prime position.

Things got out of hand. He was surrounded by lackeys who through ignorance, political bias, malice or to further their own agenda did not update him on the changing world and the overall social mentality of a good number of citizens. Others jumped on the bandwagon and under the ‘umbrella’ some minor political parties developed for a short while. He seemed to have been caught in a time warp. Unfortunately people were disillusioned with the Church, a trend which is still prevalent to this present day.

Politics apart, Gonzi was a good bishop and scholar. I can speak from experience as he helped me substantially in the organisation of the children’s programmes and the Christmas parties for needy children. He introduced me to many personalities. In fact I am sure he used to listen to my daily programmes.

Even after so many years he is still an enigma. He was an adherent Christian and saw the surge of socialism as going against the faith. His “actions” had grave repercussions. It is a pity that some have not learnt the lessons from the 1960s and there are still those who hide behind the Church for their own agendas.

The Church must be careful not to let anyone use it for his biased scope.

I feel that Church and State should coexist and work together for the mutual benefit of the population.