More than a century ago, St George Preca had established the Society of Christian Doctrine with the main aim of helping the Church in the faith formation of children, youths and adults.

In my opinion, present day problems require an additional approach. There is an acute need for a parallel organisation or a branch of MUSEUM to emulate in detail Christ’s teachings in that Jesus had called himself the Good Shepherd who left behind the flock of sheep to go and seek the one who had strayed. It is a known and accepted fact that many of the Maltese, mainly the youths, seem to have strayed away from Christianity. The young and old are constantly being bombarded by materialistic and false doctrines. In Malta there are many who call themselves “missionaries” with the sole aim of attracting “converts” to their “teachings”.

There are many sects such as the Mormons, Moonies, Jehovahs, Baptists apart from alien religions and atheists. As far as I know, the Catholic Church has not been pro-active and aggressive enough to correct the misleading teachings of these groups. Jesus had been very clear when He spoke about the need to seek the sheep that strayed, even at the risk of letting the flock on its own.

With the limited number of clergy, these cannot cope with additional work. Certain parishes have adapted the yearly Easter blessings and extended them all through the year to be able to dedicate more time to each family. Bur even so, they do not (or cannot) tackle those who will not welcome them. Thus, while the exponents of sects knock on doors, even if they are not welcome, there is also a need for a modern group to emulate the Good Shepherd and go to the very places and nightspots frequented by youths.

These modern day missionaries will have to be down to earth, wear trendy clothes, be able to mix and discuss with the disillusioned youths. They cannot be from the mainstream members of MUSEUM but will need to be specially trained for their delicate and difficult mission.

Will there be a new St ĠorġPreca? Will the MUSEUM accept this challenge and branch out to seek the lost sheep? The need is there, the harvest is ripe, will there be enough workers in the fields of the Lord?