New brooms sweep clean

Cliques within the Church and the village ‘festa’

Lately, I read many articles regarding the present situation of the Maltese Church. I must say that I do not go the Curia in Floriana, so I know little of the employees who work there. From what I could understand, it seems that some officials have been occupying their post for quite a long time, stagnating the local Church. Another point discussed was the village festa. We say that new brooms sweep clean but is it really the case? I've got my doubts, and here I express my humble opinion.

Humans tend to stay close to those who share their beliefs, so it's obvious that cliques are formed. We find cliques in schools, workplaces, families, convents, political parties, parishes, clubs, and so on. The reason is that these are groups of people, and wherever they form groups, cliques are born too. The Church is no exception, and here I refer to the entire Church, not just the Church in Malta.

On the other hand, we cannot ignore the fact that people who have been occupying a position for quite a long time, can be of great benefit to the entity, and again I say that the Church is no exception. I cannot imagine a new Archbishop with a brand new staff. I think it would be one big catastrophe because Curia staff know their duties very well and giving them the sack will bring the Curia, and obviously the local Church, to a grinding halt. This is one situation where new brooms will not sweep clean. It would even be unfair to sack the lot. So in my opinion, new staff must be engaged from time to time without dismissing anyone. The new faces must be open-minded and ready to face the reality and the needs of today's Church. Unfortunately, I think that some young priests are more interested in pre-Vatican Council rites and liturgy than facing the truth. Employing priests who prefer going around wearing a cassocks or a soutane will not help the Church find the lost sheep. If new recruits are added to the Curia personnel, a reshuffle every now and then will be healthy and could eliminate cliques.

The village festa has been a battlefield for rather a long time. I have written many a time on this matter and I totally agree with what was said. I feel that many festa enthusiasts are missing the most important part of their festa, i.e. the religious part. This type of approach to the local festa can confuse others. Not participating in the liturgical part of the festa just to organise the band march and all that goes with it is pure paganism. For God's sake, I am not saying that the Maltese festa should cease, but some sort of regulations must be drawn up, and the sooner the better. It's not easy to find the middle way in this matter and I know that talks have been going on for many years.

Let's imagine that the outdoor festivities in our festa are restricted, like less band marches, less fireworks and so on. Do we really think that those festa fanatics will be sitting on the church benches on feast days? I doubt it! But still it doesn't mean that we should leave everything as it is.

Together with the old Curia personnel and the newcomers, I think that even the question regarding the local festa might be resolved. However, new brooms do not always sweep clean!

Fr Reno Muscat

The Malta Independent on Sunday 9 November 2014