This year's celebration of the feast of saints Peter and Paul, popularly known as Mnarja, brought with it the inauguration of the Pauline Year, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St Paul, an initiative of Pope Benedict being celebrated throughout the universal Catholic Church. To launch this initiative in Malta, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Bishop Mario Grech released a pastoral letter, declaring that the Church should return to its roots. This is of importance to the Christian community in Malta. It also has significance for the rest of society as the Bishops are stating clearly that the Church, like St Paul, should "not refrain from proposing and building a new order in the public life of our country".

It is a pity that the Bishops gave no blueprint of this "new order in public life of our country". Nor did the Bishops say, on this occasion, what will the Church be doing to achieve this. Therefore, one hopes that this will be done in the near future. There are though, a number of clues.

The Bishops will be taking their cue - with regard to content and method - from St Paul who, they say, "made proposals according to the Gospel regarding the family, equality, slaves, sexuality, women, and so many other things". This long list of areas of involvement means that, like St Paul, the Bishops will continue to speak on all issues of interest to society and its members. Besides, a look at the topics the Bishops spoke about throughout the years shows that this aim is, by and large, being fulfilled.

The method used by St Paul - once more drawn from the pastoral letter - has these characteristics: radical, controversial, not afraid to be isolated and absolutely clear on issues. When one looks at the methods used by the Church in Malta, can one conclude that its methodology is characterised by the same elements that underscored St Paul's method? Can the Maltese Church be described as controversial or as one that speaks in absolutely clear terms? Past events hardly point in this direction. It is a good sign that the "new" Bishops will now be adopting such a method.

The chances are that most Maltese will welcome a Church whose presence in society is radical, controversial and outspoken. Most will welcome the Bishops' commitment for "true and authentic witness" by the Christian community. The building of a "new order in public life" asks for nothing less.

The Bishops also made clear commitments vis-à-vis the Church. Once more they committed themselves "to work seriously towards a sound catechesis at every level". They also want to work towards this aim with urgency. Lack of sound catechesis is, and has been for long, the Achilles heel of Maltese Catholics. Many have been cultural Catholics more than evangelised ones. They were born and bred as Catholics but hardly know what being Catholic really means. The Church cannot really be freed of responsibility with regard to this situation. Instead of the wholesome meat of the Gospels, many continued to be fed the tripe of festas, pique and traditions throughout their life.

The Bishops want to change all this. If, as indicated, they follow in the footsteps of St Paul, they will, of course, be on the right track.