I did not know the recently departed Mgr Fortunato Mizzi that well. However, I became acquainted with him when I was asked to become a member and to eventually replace him as president of the Commission for the Church in Malta and Europe.

The Commission, initially known as ‘The Church and the European Community’, was first set up by the bishops of Malta and Gozo when Malta applied to join the European Union (then still the European Community) in 1990. Its mandate was to seek to understand what impact membership would have on Maltese society and was asked to study and report to the bishops on: (a) how Malta’s eventual membership of the EU would affect the Church and its work among the Maltese people; and (b) the contribution which out of a sense of solidarity the Church in Malta could give to the Church and to society in general in the EU.

When the application was ‘frozen’ in 1996, the commission’s remit was widened to encompass the broader European context. In fact, it was renamed as ‘The Church in Malta and Europe’ Commission.

I was asked to step in to succeed Mgr Mizzi when Malta got the green light to start negotiating accession following the reactivation of the membership application in 1998. It was not an easy situation to handle from the Church’s perspective. Whereas the Holy See and the Church on the European level were actively supporting the EU project and its enlargement, in Malta the Church found itself in a situation where expressing itself in any manner on the EU would be interpreted as interfering in a local political issue given the contentious nature of EU membership at the time.

Although we did try to contribute as best as we could, the Church was almost totally absent on the local level although we did succeed in forging links with other bishops’ conferences and to start participating in the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).

Although the Malta in Europe Commission still appears on the website of the Archdiocese of Malta, I am not aware of its activity and my impression is that it unfortunately lies dormant. The description that appears on the website is still that which I had written up before I left 10 years ago and still refers, for example, to the ‘Forum Malta in Europe’ which was absorbed by Meusac when this was reactivated in 2008.

Mgr Mizzi was not one to blow his own trumpets about his ‘activism’ particularly through the Social Action Movement which he founded and led for many years. However, through his soft-spoken manner, he would try to represent as best as he could the values he upheld and to promote them.

There is a lack of interest in debating EU issues apart from those that feature in the news from time to time because of their controversial nature such as migration

The Catholic Church can boast of a rich corpus of social teaching that touches on many different aspects of our lives as individuals living in society with the main themes ranging from the primacy of human dignity to solidarity, pursuit of the common good, respect for the natural environment and the dignity of work to give just some examples.

This is what inspires the Church to engage with EU institutions, national governments and society at large. COMECE, for instance, seeks to contribute to major EU policy areas such as migration and asylum, ecology and sustainability, justice and fundamental rights as well as social and economic policies.

Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) binds the union to “maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue” with churches, religious associations or communities in the member states.

The ‘dialogue’, which falls under the responsibility of the commission’s first vice-president Frans Timmermans, allows for an open exchange of views on EU policies between the EU institutions and the churches as well as other important sectors of European society.

The Church in Malta is, however, invisible when it comes to debating EU policies locally apart from notable exceptions such as the Jesuit Refugee Service, albeit mostly limited to asylum seekers and displaced persons. I augur that following the recent and much welcomed re-establishment of the Commission for Justice and Peace, our bishops may take steps to also re-establish the ‘Malta in Europe’ Commission.

Generally speaking, possibly due to the fact that the EU is no longer a matter that divides the political spectrum in Malta, there is a lack of interest in debating EU issues apart from those that feature in the news from time to time because of their controversial nature such as migration.

Six months ago, the European Commission published a white paper on the future of Europe and the way forward in view of the decision by the UK to withdraw from the EU. The white paper offered five scenarios for how the union could evolve and was meant to start off a European-wide process of reflection and discussion on the future of Europe.

The white paper was followed up with the publication of a series of five reflection papers aimed at widening the discussion to issues that will most affect our future: the social dimension, globalisation, deepening the economic and monetary union, the future of European defence and the future of EU finances.

It is important that in each and every member state, a discussion on the themes that are being proposed takes place and encompasses the widest possible scope of society. On the European level, I am pleased to note that COMECE and the Holy See will be organising a congress next month entitled ‘(Re)thinking Europe a Christian Contribution to the Future of the European Union’.

The event will bring together bishops and high-level political representatives, together with Pope Francis and other Church actors. It will include high-level political representatives, members of Catholic lay movements, religious orders and youth. Thankfully, a Maltese delegation will also be participating.

At a moment in history when the survival of the EU as we know it may be at stake, the contribution of all persons of good will is necessary to tackle the challenges of today in order for there to be a future.