As child abuse troubles drag on in the Catholic Church, Archbishop Charles Scicluna explains what his new, powerful role at the Vatican entails – but appears to dismiss the suggestion that it paves the way for him to be made a Cardinal. Interview by Keith Micallef

You have been touted as heading for great things following your recent appointment as Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). What is your reaction to suggestions that this is a sign of greater things to come?

My nomination is an obvious sign of trust from the Pope, but also a mission of responsibility. I join a group of two very well-prepared secretaries, the Titular Secretary who is Archbishop Giacomo Morandi and the First Adjunct Secretary who is Archbishop Augustine Di Noia. I recently joked with Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer that he was the only prefect of the CDF who had three secretaries, who are the number two in any job in the Roman Curia.

In my case, the situation is quite exceptional, as it is the first ever appointment of a residential archbishop in this post, as this is usually a full-time job.

The obvious calling is to be available for any special missions which the Holy Father wants to entrust me, and which certainly will facilitate work that I would have to do in the area of competence of the congregation.

This entity deals with special misconduct cases including sexual abuse of minors by clergy. The two missions I had in Chile this year did not only deal with this matter but also with abuse of power.

I am also President of a review board called College of Recourses whose remit is to look into decisions taken by the CDF. This means that while Archbishops Morandi and Di Noia take care of the everyday workings, I am taking care of the review of the decisions taken.

What kind of decisions are you referring to?

First of all, my role dictates that I have to keep my distance from the everyday matters of the CDF as I have to judge whether it has decided correctly. As things stand at the moment I can continue with my mission as Archbishop of Malta while contributing, as I have already done for almost the last three years, as President of the College of Recourses. What changes is that I now have an institutional role within the Roman Curia which brings greater responsibility.

How did you react when your appointment fuelled speculation you could become a papable cardinal?

The appointment of cardinals is a very personal decision of the Holy Father. Being number two in the CDF, as in my case, is not a job which will give you the red hat. The prefects are the ones who are made cardinals. In contrast, I take my appointment as an institutional no!

What sort of decisions does the CDF take?

The College I preside over holds a session every month in Rome to decide three to four cases concerning serious misconduct by members of the clergy. It is a like a disciplinary board of appeal.

The CDF as such deals also with doctrinal matters. In this respect, I take part as a member.

Back home however, there has been criticism that Malta has been relegated to having a part-time archbishop. I understand you disagree.

By the same argument, it means that Rome has a part-time bishop as the Pope is also the Archbishop of Rome. But he is not. Being a bishop is like being a father. Even if you are away working on an oil rig in Libya you are still a father.

I realise I have to dedicate time to Rome but also have to dedicate time to Malta as any bishop called to have a role in the Holy See does. For example, the Pope decided to have residential bishops from all over the world to help him in what is called the Council of Nine. They are archbishops in their home country but have to travel to Rome due to their special role.

Who will dare say that Joseph Muscat is a part-time Prime Minister? Let us cut this crap

The Pope wants residential bishops who are in touch with the people to be part of the decision-making processes in Rome. This is another aspect of what Francis wants when he says the Roman Curia must open up to the realities of the people.

Clearly, not everybody within the Maltese Church shares your opinion on this matter. Have you tried to reach out to people like Fr Rene Camilleri, who coincidentally resigned as Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation last September?

He resigned because he said we needed another take at it. He is also very active in other areas. He is a full-time lecturer at University but he also does other things. He knows he is a full-time lecturer.

You seem to be very keen to stress that Fr Rene having ‘other things’ does not make him a part-time lecturer.

There is multi-tasking in many people’s lives including Fr Rene. We had a jovial meeting about this issue, when speaking about somebody whom we wanted to accept on a part-time basis. We had a laugh at it.

I think his ecclesiology is wide enough to understand that a bishop is not only called to serve the diocese for which he is the shepherd and the Vicar of Christ, but every Catholic bishop has a responsibility to the universal Church. You accomplish that role, according to the indications of the Holy Father. That is what I am doing.

You are very highly esteemed for your work in combating child abuse among the clergy, to the point that you have been described as the Vatican’s prosecutor. What is the importance of next February’s bishops’ conference? Do we have to wait till February for a crackdown on such abuses?

I refer you to an article published in Civiltà Cattolica by Padre Federico Lombardi, who explains what the Church has been doing for the last 20 years in the area of response to misconduct and sexual abuse of minors by clergy. Of course we do not have to wait for February to do something, as we have been doing things for quite some time. 

The February meeting needs to bring home the idea that addressing sexual abuse is an important aspect of the bishops’ mission. It is going to be about responsibility, accountability and transparency.

We have concentrated on the victims and perpetrators, on how to prevent abuse, but now we also need to develop a sense that the institution needs to tackle this in the right way as the stewardship of bishops itself is being called into question.

This is a developing story in parts of the world. It is not only what happened to the victims but how the Church addressed the issue that is now under the spotlight. Discussing with bishops from around the world about shouldering responsibility, being accountable to God and to our people and being transparent in how to do things, and the outcome. 

We will not be starting from scratch as there is a lot of positive narrative that needs to be told, which however will never diminish the tragedy of the negative narrative. The trauma of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was not only the abuse but the betrayal of trust. People are now asking: Why did they cover up? Why did they address the issue in the way they did?

People have a right to get answers to these questions. The February meeting will help everybody to be on the same page concerning stewardship.

Should we expect some sort of common framework to regulate the manner in which bishops handle such cases and have a uniform approach?

It depends on the leadership style and culture. For this reason you cannot expect a uniform way of tackling things, but there are basic values that have to be top of the agenda and need to be followed.

The February meeting has a very short timeframe. When we discussed this issue in the steering committee of which I am member, we decided to invest in the short, middle and long term. Follow-up is going to be of the essence. We are not only talking about having the right priorities but also about promoting structures of accountability and audit.

Responsibility, accountability and transparency are not buzz words for three days.

With hindsight, the appointment of the Auxiliary Bishop last June reinforces speculation that you are on the way out. Are you seriously mulling stepping down and taking a full-time position at the Vatican? 

The good news for the people who enjoy detracting me is that I am not staying here forever. I am on the way out as I can die any minute, and the post of a bishop is for a definite period of time. This is good news for so many people.

In this case, I was the one who asked the Pope to appoint an auxiliary bishop after the first mission in Chile last March. I understood I had to be available for special missions abroad on a regular basis, but I was also asking the Pope to have a bishop present in Malta during my absence. The Pope understood this request and he said that “people need to touch the bishop” – the words he used in Italian which will remain with me forever were: “Il popolo ha bisogno di toccare il vescovo.”

The Auxiliary Bishop’s appointment was not the start of my farewell song being played in the background. It was only during last October’s synod that the Pope spoke to me about his plans for my involvement as adjunct secretary on the CDF.

He always tells me that Rome is only an hour’s flight away from Malta. It is like travelling from Milan. The Pope immediately acceded to my request, prompting a remark from the Nuncio that he never saw a nomination of auxiliary bishop being done at such speed. In fact in June, I was sent on another mission, the same month in which Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi was appointed.

In this context, this harks back to the criticism of having a ‘part-time’ archbishop, possibly for years to come.

I think we have to learn to live with having an archbishop who is often on a plane. I was actually noticing the frequency with which our dear Prime Minister is also on a plane going to Brussels and all sorts of meetings. This does not make him a part-time Prime Minister.

We have to realize that in a global world, leadership of a country, of a diocese, is compatible with a role on the international level. Who will dare say that Joseph Muscat is a part-time Prime Minister? Not even Rene Camilleri. Let us cut this crap.

You have been criticised for being very outspoken, especially by the Labour Party. But it seems you have gone silent on issues like corruption. Have this criticism conditioned you in some way?

It does condition me because I understand that some people do not digest criticism easily, and so I do not want to create indigestion. However, the debate in recent months has become overtly partisan, dangerously close to being very divisive. I am afraid of stoking fires which will never be put out.

The role of the archbishop is to present values but refrain from commenting on individual cases. My role is to give clear leadership concerning values and to examine myself constantly as to whether I am living according to what I preach.

My appeal to our country is that we need to get our act together to save our public institutions in order to ascertain and guarantee a true democracy.

Are you referring to the debate on the rule of law in Malta?

Rule of law, governance, etc. We need to push the reset button and go back to the commandments. That was my message during the recent Christ The King homily at St John’s Co-cathedral. The basic law of civilisation of being a true human is to obey the commandments. Do not lie, do not steal, do not kill. Everybody should examine themselves on these three commandments.

There have been calls to debate abortion if not legalise it in Malta. How is the Church in Malta approaching this matter? How will it mobilise its resources to the full in the case of a referendum?  Is there a risk of burning even more bridges at a time when Church attendances are in decline?

We have to engage society in a mature way. It is not a question of imposing anybody’s particular view but a question of taking on a fundamental issue – the right to life.

Fighting abortion is basically saying ‘do not kill’. Science is probably the best ally of the Church’s stand on this matter, as it tells us that life starts with fertilisation of the ova and conception. This is something that we have always presented as a basic truth, and it has more to do with nature than with religion.

Politicians, and the people who could be voting on this issue in a referendum, all started their life in their mother’s womb. Killing an unborn baby goes against the fundamental right to life. No matter how the baby is conceived, it has a right to live. This is something which makes us not less, but more human.

The Nuncio said he never saw a nomination of auxiliary bishop being done at such speed

This debate is on another level when compared to divorce. We will do whatever it takes to engage in a civilised and well-informed relationship and dialogue with society, but at the end of the day everybody will have to bear their own responsibility. Mine is to present the teachings of the Church in a respectful but clear manner. I will not be silenced on this, even if it creates indigestion.

We are a few days before Christmas but there seems to be a feeling in certain quarters that the genuine sense of this celebration is being eroded. It seems everything has a price these days. Do you subscribe to this view?

I must say that a quote from architect Richard England sums it up best: We know the price of everything and the value of nothing. We have put prices on everything – people, passports, our own identity, land and environment – but do they have value? Do we have a pricelist or a list of values?

Fr Joe Inguanez recently in The Sunday Times of Malta made the point that we are mixing profits with prophets. It seems we want to listen to the voice of the former but not to the latter. This is the choice we need to ponder at Christmas.

This will mark the second centenary of the beautiful carol Stille Nacht, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber on words by Joseph Mohr in 1816.  Christmas is all about reflection, silence and the peace of the heart when looking at the face of baby Jesus.

My best wish for Christmas is that we find time to reflect on the value of things and not their price. I would also like to appeal to the Maltese to continue celebrating Christmas until the Epiphany. We must keep celebrating the 12 days of Christmas till January 6.