Recently Times of Malta published an article in connection with the Cabinet papers of the 1960s and Archbishop Michael Gonzi. He was Bishop of Gozo in the 1930s when my grandfather Josie Borg Cardona was Commissioner for Gozo.

My grandfather was a keen fan of football. Gozo did not have a football ground at that time and my grandfather worked hard to obtain funds from the British Government in order to build one. The funds were obtained and the ground was opened on May 10, 1936.

The pitch was named the “Silver Jubilee Ground” in commemoration of the silver jubilee of the coronation of KingGeorge V. Unfortunately, someone has deemed it fit to eradicate the name of the ground, now called the “Gozo Ground”, and thus lose the historical background to its construction.

Soon after, when football started to be played on a regular basis on a Sunday afternoon, Bishop Gonzi called my grandfather in and asked him to close the ground down immediately as it was attracting the young men of Gozo away from the church services which used to be held on Sunday afternoons.

My grandfather was threatened with excommunication from the Catholic Church should he not comply. This created a huge dilemma for him.

Luckily for him, the Lieutenant-Governor at that time, Sir Harry Luke, was a good friend of my grandfather and well respected in Gozo for his work in restoring Casa Bondi in Victoria and other similar projects. The Lieutenant-Governor intervened with the Bishop and the ground was saved for the enjoyment of Gozitans up to this day.

This was not the only clash between Josie Borg Cardona and Bishop Gonzi.