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Fr Peter and Fr Colin are both priests, they are both Catholics and they both have the same Archbishop and bishop as their leaders. Their only difference is that one works for the Nationalists and the other is a Labourite. Fr Peter has been involved in political work for a number of years since the famous Nationalist electoral manifesto of the 20 points, whereas Fr Colin has only lately decided to emulate Fr Peter and come in the open as to his political inclinations.
This week, and rightly so, the Catholic Church issued a statement scolding members of the clergy who involve themselves in politics. The gist of the statement was correct, the timing was not. We Catholics have for long complained about the involvement of certain priests, like Fr Peter, in politics. However, this always fell on deaf ears. Everybody is aware of the propaganda that certain clergymen and religious people gave to the Nationalist party during the referendum campaign. No move was made by the church to scold this.
The Church did not lift a finger; neither did it complain about Fr Peter’s appointment as consultant to the government, the person who wrote most of Fenech Adami’s speeches, the person who was appointed by the government to represent Malta in the discussions on the drafting of the EU Constitution. I am not sure whether it would have behaved likewise if this came from a Labour government and related to a pro-left priest.
It is true that the Church did not take a stand on the EU issue, however meetings of the European Bishops, which were amply publicised, were a very subtle form of propaganda. Even during the Synod, we all remember - and this also happened at the time of the general elections - how leaflets distributed by the Church about the Synod, included speeches by the President and the Prime Minister, but not by the Leader of the Opposition. We know of nuns in Old People’s Homes who lit candles in front of pictures of Fenech Adami and urged the old and the fragile to pray and vote for him because he is a holy man. We also know of a particular religious congregation in Sliema that hired out its premises for political activities during the elections campaign.
The readers know of instances in church schools where children of Labourites are continuously being harassed because of their political beliefs. An instance happened last week when the headmaster told his pupils that that was the last day that he was greeting them as Maltese and that as from Monday 3 May he will be greeting them as Europeans – as if Europe consisted only of the members of the European Union!
We know that Nationalists run the Church and priests with Labour tendencies stand little chance of being in the administration of the Church. The circle of ‘friends of friends’ exist at the Curia as well. Just have a look at the web-site of the Curia and you will know what I mean. Members of various Boards and Commissions are all - except for one or two - pro-Nationalist. The editorial board of the Church newspaper and the people employed therein are another example. There is also the APS bank that belongs to the Church and which has a board of directors who are all Nationalists – as if no Labourite is qualified and has enough experience in banking!
And speaking of APS bank, I cannot but remind the Church that when it set up the bank it promised us that this was going to be a ‘temporary measure’ which from the look of it is going to be an indefinite one. The Church knows that a commercial bank is not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ nor is it in accordance with the wishes of the testators.
The testators bequeathed their property and their monies to the Church in exchange for prayers and for evangelisation and not to be transferred to the Government, or into a commercial bank, or sold to speculators or be the subject of speculation. The APS Bank is a disgrace to a church that preaches the teachings of Jesus Christ.
No wonder that the Church has lost control over its members. As long as it continues to make a distinction between the likes of Fr Peter and of Fr Colin we cannot take it seriously. The statement issued by the Church has again opened the wound of the 60’s when the Catholic Church excommunicated those who supported Labour. People rightly ask why this was made today, when Fr Peter’s involvement in the EU constitution is now practically over and when the party he rallies for has won the referendum and the election and when his friend and employer is now reaping the benefits of his dreams as President of the country. Why now?
When the Church protested to the government about the way the Malta Planning and Environment Authority was granting certain building permits and accused it of corruption, we saw in the Church the support that we have been waiting for. We thought that the poor and the helpless were going to have an ally, an ally that they unfortunately do not find in their politicians. However, you all remember how hell broke loose with ministers coming and going out of the Curia, and with the government challenging the Archbishop to mention the names of people involved in corruption. But more than that nothing happened and MEPA and the Church became friends again.
The Church in Malta cannot waste its energy on politics. Priests and clergymen cannot be allowed to be instrumental in the political divide of the country. The Church cannot allow for priests not to make a full-time job of their vocation because the money they earn is little. Neither must it allow priests to continue to further speculate in property and business. Such priests are doing a disservice to the Church and are a living example of their fragile faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
There is no doubt that the statement issued by the Church this week irked more the Labourites than the Nationalists and unless we Labourites are treated equally, the Church cannot expect us to take it seriously. No wonder that a seven year old daughter of a friend of mine came home after school during the feverish campaigns of last year and asked her mother if God was a Nationalist!
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