'Look at what they've done to me' - Dominican friar recalls pressure for Paul Cremona to resign
Dominican friar Charles Tabone, who was a friend of the late archbishop emeritus, said that the pressure for Paul Cremona to resign had drove him to tears
21 March 2025, 9:30am
Matthew Farrugia
Matthew Farrugia
2 min read
Charles Tabone, who is a Dominican friar like Paul Cremona, was speaking during a special broadcast on TVM
Former archbishop Paul Cremona resigned after direct and indirect pressure which drove him to tears, friar Charles Tabone said.
Tabone, who is a Dominican friar like Cremona, was speaking during a special broadcast on TVM on the first day of ceremonies to celebrate the life of Pawlu Cremona.
The former archbishop died late on Tuesday. He served as archbishop for seven years and was at the helm of the church during a time when it lost much of its influence.
Cremona was reported to be suffering from depression. In the months before his resignation University lecturer and media academic Fr Joe Borg complained of a leadership vacuum inside the church.
READ ALSO: Cremona 'succumbed to exhaustion' soon after divorce referendum
For weeks, opinion writers have taken to different newspapers to express their criticism of the Church’s leadership. Among the critics was sociologist FR Joe Inguanez, who had told MaltaToday that after the divorce referendum, the Maltese church was at a standstill.
On Thursday, friar Charles Tabone, who was a friend of Cremona, bluntly stated that his resignation in 2014 came after “direct and indirect pressure,” and that the pressure left him feeling broken and betrayed.
He recounted an episode where he found Cremona crying with a newspaper in his hand. “Look at what they’ve done to me,” Cremona reportedly told Tabone. The friar also spoke of the remarks made about the former archbishop's mental state.
Despite this, Tabone said that Cremona never resented anyone.
He was then succeeded by archbishop Charles Scicluna, who will preside over Cremona’s funeral next Saturday.
Tabone says newspaper articles pressured Cremona to resign 'not people'
On Friday, Tabone spoke once again on TVM to clarify that it was newspaper articles, "not people," who pressured Cremona to resign.
He stressed that archbishop Charles Scicluna personally saw that Cremona had all that he needed when he fell ill for the lest time.
Tabone also thanked Scicluna for overseeing the funeral ceremonies.
Matthew Farrugia is a staff reporter at MaltaToday
