Most people associate Mgr Charles Vella, or ‘Fr Charles’ as he was affectionately known, with the Cana Movement which he founded in 1956, and rightly so. His was a prophetic decision taken at a time more than 60 years ago when marriage and the family in Malta were still quite strong and stable, not facing the threats they are facing today. And yet the movement he founded is even more relevant today, and definitely no less important than it was at its inception, thanks to the foresight shown by this remarkable priest.
However, Fr Charles’s great contribution to the development of religious broadcasting via radio and TV in Malta also cannot be ignored. When in 1961 the Broadcasting Authority was set up, Fr Charles was nominated by Archbishop Michael Gonzi as the Church’s representative on the board as the Religious Broadcasting Organiser. His presence, especially after attending a BBC course in London, was instrumental in giving a boost to religious programmes, making them more professional, topical and appealing not only to the ‘devout’ but also to those who had lost interest in the faith.
One such programme was Djalogu, which was first broadcast on TV in October 1966. On the initiative of Fr Charles a group of religious and lay men, among them Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott, Prof. Maurice Eminyan SJ, Prof. C. Muscat, Fr N. Ellul Vincenti OFM, Maurice Tanti Burlò, Manni Spiteri, Renato Agius Muscat, Charles Xuereb, myself and several others used to meet regularly every week to discuss the topics, content and presentation of the programmes.
Under Fr Charles’s leadership and inspired by his enthusiasm, knowledge and background, the team discussed and often agreed to tackle ‘delicate’ topics like family planning and birth control, prostitution, corruption in (local) football, and social issues like housing and others. As was to be expected 50 years ago, certain topics could not fail to raise eyebrows and sometimes also negative reactions. One programme in particular, which dealt with the theory of man’s evolution, was interpreted by many viewers as a rejection of the Bible’s account of man’s creation. This led the Archbishop to order Fr Charles and his Djalogu team to immediately produce another programme in order to clear the minds and repair the damage that was caused.
At the time, Djalogu was the most followed locally produced programme on MTV (now TVM) with over 140,000 weekly viewers. As a member of the production team (I was also the programme’s presenter) I had the opportunity to work closely with Fr Charles. I could appreciate his dedication and knowledge, and above all, his trust in the power of the media to convey Christ’s and the Church’s message to all believers and non-believers.
Much as I admired Fr Charles, we did not always see eye to eye during our discussions about topics or presentation. After all, I was, certainly by Fr Charles’ standards, a conservative and not ready to take risks. On one occasion we had quite a heated discussion which went on even after the meeting. I went home disappointed and sore. Imagine my surprise when at about 11pm the telephone rang. It was Fr Charles: “Laurence?... I’m sorry about our clash... Please forgive me.”
That incident, which is still vivid in my mind, speaks volumes about the man. He was indeed a remarkable person whose reputation and achievements extended well beyond our shores. He was a man of great faith, courage, convictions and abilities who made full use of the talents the Lord endowed him with.
As stated by Prof. Oliver Friggieri in his preface to Fr Charles’s autobiographical volume, Sinjali Maltin ta’ Żmienna, “Fr Charles Vella is one of the protagonists in the pastoral life of 20th century Malta.”