Gozo bishop calls on Church to ‘adapt to modern society’

The Church must adapt itself to society so as to welcome contemporary people while remaining faithful to the gospels, Gozo bishop Mario Grech said.

Quoting Pope Francis, Grech said that he doesn’t want to see “a Church focused on remaining in the centre and closing itself up in a conundrum of obsessions and procedures”.

“We should be incited by the fear of closing ourselves up in structures that give us false protection and in norms that transform us into merciless judges,” Grech said.

However, he warned that this conversion of the clergy will not be an easy task.

“The traditional environment of our parishes and the mentality of a number of pastors can greatly hamper us from implementing this vision,” he said. “Our pastors are too attached with the temple and sacristies. We ring the church bells and wait for the people to enter our house during our opening hours.”  

Read the full interview in today’s edition of Illum