Malta: a special bond

“The power of his words and his vision, following his example, should encourage us not to renounce proposing the erection of a new order in the Country’s public life”. Msgr. Paul Cremona, archbishop of Malta and Msgr. Mario Grech, bishop of Gozo, indicated Saint Paul as a role model for contemporary Christians in the Pastoral Letter published on the occasion of the opening of the Pauline Year (June 28 2008 – June 29 2009), which His Holiness Benedict XVI inaugurated the evening of June 28 in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls with the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, the representative of the archbishop of Canterbury, and the delegates of the different Churches and ecclesial communities in the East and the West. The Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Malta and Gozo was read to the faithful during the Mass officiated by archbishop Cremona on June 28 on the parvis of the Cathedral of Mdina, which officially opened the Pauline Year in the Country. Father in faith. Evocating Saint Paul’s shipwreck on the island of Malta during his third trip in the Mediterranean, begun in 53 and concluded in 58 A.D., the prelates remarked: “his misfortune turned into a grace for us”. Since the early Christian period, “his wreck had the providential effect of enabling us to receive the Good News, the Gospel”. This is why “we consider the wreck of the Apostle a blessing and a privilege”. We received with much joy Benedict XVI’s invitation to celebrate the Pauline Year with the Universal Church on the occasion of the bimillennary of the birth of the Apostle of the Nations. For us he isn’t one of the many saints, since he is the one who generated us in faith”. “To the light of this special bond which our islands have always had with our father Paul – the bishops continued – we express our wish that this year may not simply be viewed as an occasion to perform a large number of initiatives”, since it is our hope that faced with “the wreckages of every-day lives” this may become an opportunity “to rediscover the strength deriving from faith”. Do not despair! “At all times – continues the Pastoral Letter – the Christian community needs to rediscover its identity, especially when our world is marked by new challenges and demands different responses”. The Church “ought to recover its roots, and these roots bring us to the first predication of Saint Paul, our father in faith” who teaches us, first of all, “that we must never lose our hope”. In recalling the account of Saint Paul’s shipwreck on the Maltese shores, the bishops pointed out that “in the midst of the tempest he continued repeating to his companions: ‘Do not despair. Nobody will die’. “From the deep of our hearts – the prelates wrote – we want to reiterate these words to those who have a desperate need to listen to them”. As regards to suffering, we still have “much to learn from Saint Paul”. Radical and courageous. In facing pagan culture, “he had to be radical and controversial”, remarked the bishops of Malta and Gozo. Despite the atmosphere of that period, which was against “the proclamation of faith”, Paul felt “no embarrassment nor fear. He did not measure his words, he did not renounce his promptness”. “He was brave with those who played with words and proposed compromises”, “he was strong with those who were cause of division within the community”, “he was clear about moral issues and with whoever tried to twist the truth”. The Apostle “can be our guide in the fog of our times, when we are tempted to turn our backs to faith because we are embarrassed or afraid”. A true testimony. For the two prelates, our society and our culture “are under many aspects similar” to those “experienced by Paul”. “Most of us have been baptized and received a religious education”. However, many ask themselves: “Lord, who are you?”. But because of the “apathy, the indifference or the tiredness” which at times take over, “nobody is able to respond to this question”. However, claimed Msgr. Crech and Msgr. Cremona, “society expects from us, Christian community, an answer which is firstly an authentic and convinced testimony”, since “our authenticity makes our words and actions believable”. Family, equality, slavery, sexuality, women’s condition: these are some of the issues addressed by the Apostle to the light of the truth of the Gospel, even when “the things he said contrasted the opinions of his times”. Hence, their final statement exhorts contemporary Christians to follow his example in the creation of a new social order, since “our Country needs the essence of belief and the truth of faith”.