The Church needs new blood - Gozo Bishop

Following recent reports which emerged in sister newspaper Illum -   which delved into the hierarchy of the Church in Malta and an aura of disillusionment amongst its clerical members – Gozo Bishop, Mario Grech, became the latest figure to speak out on the need for certain changes within the institution.

As part of his homily during a service at the San Lawrenz parish, Grech said that when blood lost its substance and became infected, the person of whom the blood belongs will become weak. If on the other hand, a blood transfusion is carried out, the person regains his or her strength, becomes energised and is re-born.

“We must open our eyes before it gets too late to implement such a transformation,” Grech told the congregation. “We all need to contribute in order for our Church to remain young at heart and fresh-face, even in its pastoral choices and decisions,” he said. “This process of modernization may not be easy but it is something that we all need.”

Stating that he was one of those that needed to implement and adapt to change, Grech said that the Church was looking tired and weary. “Sometimes I ask myself what effect faith is having in our daily lives, and what impact the Church is leaving on society?”

Grech opined that it seemed like some form of “cultural current” was overriding Christian values. “I hope that I am wrong but I feel as if we need new blood for the sake of Christianity,” he said. “Our beliefs are not some antique inherited by us from previous generations. It would be wrong of us to think of our faith as some tradition of our ancestors.”

“It doesn’t quite matter if we do not remain a religion of the masses,” he said. “It will be better to have small communities but creative ones. I ask myself, ‘Where has all the creativity gone within our ecclesiastical community?’ I do not want to generalize but I am merely saying what I’ve been feeling.”