Gozo Bishop Mario Grech will be turning down invitations to State dinners, as he distances himself from circles of power.
Addressing seminarists in Victoria, Mgr Grech said that in Malta, the Church was still identified with civil power, so much so that “we are still seated on red chairs at the front rows”.
The Bishop suggested renouncing certain worldly privileges bestowed to the Church years ago in different times.
“I feel that nowadays it is not my place to attend State dinners. I’m not saying this with disrespect towards the highest civil authorities, but so that the Bishop ministry does not continue to be associated with particular circles of power,” he said.
The Bishop admitted that such choices will not go down well by all, even within ecclesiastical settings. However, these were not political or social choices, but rather evangelical. Such choices were needed for the renewal of the Church, he added.
“This reflection comes from the heart. It is the weight of the responsibility that I carry as a Bishop of this Church that prompts me to speak this way,” he said, urging the seminarists to share his vision for the local Church. But Mgr Grech seems to be alone in this...
