The Catholic Church has come out in defence of religious services held in the illegally developed Armier shantytown, because it “feels it is its mission to provide for the spiritual needs also of persons who may have had or may be accused of having problems with the law.”
The shantytown is composed of approximately 1,200 illegal boathouses, mostly built without permits in the 1970s and 1980s. Their owners have since formed a lobby group which successfully strong-armed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi into an agreement to lease the land to a company owned by the boathouse owners, after MEPA issues permits for the construction of 1600 new holiday homes instead of the existing 1200.
The shantytown covers a total land area of around 67,000 square metres, equivalent to eight full size football fields.
Church services in the Ramlet il-Qortin illegal hamlet officially started yesterday, and the local Curia, which over the past years has been increasingly critical of developments harming the environment, defends these religious functions on spiritual grounds.
“Liturgical pastoral ministry in any given setting in itself goes beyond the approval or disapproval of the behaviour of the congregation or part of the congregation,” Charles Buttigieg, public relations officer of the Curia, told MaltaToday. “The Church feels it is its mission to provide for the spiritual needs also of persons who may have had or may be accused of having problems with the law.”
So far the Church, through its Environmental Commission, has never expressed itself on the illegal shantytown. But Prof. Victor Axiak, who chairs the commission, reiterated the commission’s belief “as citizens of a community, it is our duty to abide by the laws of the land and under no circumstances should we break such laws to suit our own perceived individual needs.”
“This is particularly relevant to the sustainable use of environmental resources including land,” Axiak said.
He also acknowledged that such responsibility is even greater on all members of the church – at any level of organization, including the faithful – who through their actions, should seek to sustain the common good of society on moral grounds.
When asked specifically on whether the church should organise religious functions in an illegal development, Axiak diplomatically replied the commission “is persistently doing its best to convince all those concerned about basic truths.”
“We hope and prays that even in this specific matter, all our actions would be guided by such principles.”

Thanking God for illegal blessings
On July 4, the Armier squatters will organise an open-air prayer meeting “to thank God for all He has done” for them.
“We will pray for spiritual and material healing,” the squatters’ newsletter Mill-Bajja announced.
The open air thanks-giving manifestation is set to take place in “Misraħ Adeodata Pisani”, were mass will be celebrated.
It is not known whether the Blessed Adeodata Pisani has given consent to the naming of an illegal square in her honour; but none of the street names in the shantytown, including the square, enjoys the approval of the government’s official street naming committee.
After the mass, which shall be accompanied by guitar music, the squatters will pray together in the presence of the consecrated Eucharist
It could well serve as an occasion to thank Divine Providence for the pre-electoral agreement, which binds Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi not to remove any of the illegalities built before 1992.
Meanwhile, church services in it-Torri l-Abjad are set to start on June 7, while those in Little Armier will start a month later.
A feast dedicated to the Blessed Virgin is also held every year at it-Torri l-Abjad illegal hamlet. Last year’s feast even included a fireworks display and a procession with the statue of the Virgin.
Despite the illegality of the squatters’ village, priests regularly participate in these activities.