Archbishop's pro-family appeal

Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca yesterday appealed and encouraged parents to make all the sacrifices necessary in order for their love towards each other and their children be everlasting.

In his homily at the thanksgiving Mass just over a week before he hands over his ministry to Mgr Paul Cremona, OP, Mgr Mercieca, Malta's Archbishop for the past 30 years, also called on politicians to work tirelessly for the state to safeguard the family in any possible way, including financially.

This would help a family to really be a family and for mothers and fathers to be able to bring up their children, especially the young ones, according to their natural call of mothers and fathers.

He said that during the term of his ministry, he realised that, for several reasons, big trial periods were emerging for the family. This encouraged and helped him give the family importance.

He said he wished to see married couples, families and everyone else understand and realise what big wealth families acquired for themselves and for society when they were really an experience of unity and love.

Mgr Mercieca said he suffered with every person who suffered any form of violence in marriage, with single parents who worked hard to give their children a solid formation and with couples who both had to work to bring up their family. He also suffered a lot with those children who were denied their right to be brought up by their mother and father together, perhaps unnecessarily. He suffered seeing young children being hurt and confused and unable to understand why their parents had separated.

The root of all his insistence whenever he spoke on the family was based on his feeling that unless the state, the Church and everyone did their utmost to safeguard families from what led them to break up, causing so much suffering not just for the parents but also for children, the trouble awaiting Maltese families and society could be huge.

A total of 270 priests concelebrated in the thanksgiving Mass, including Mgr Mercieca's brother Fr Ganni, Apostolic Nuncio Felix del Blanco Prieto, Gozo Bishop Mgr Mario Grech, Auxiliary Bishop Mgr Annetto Depasquale and former nuncios Mgr Paul Giglio and Mgr Francis Adeodato Micallef, apart from Archbishop-elect Mgr Paul Cremona.

Members of the clergy, nuns and the public packed St John's Co-Cathedral, which included monitors to enable the congregation to follow better. Two big screens were also placed outside the temple.

Mgr Mercieca recalled choosing his motto Ilkoll Ahwa fi Kristu - All Brethren in Christ - before being ordained Archbishop. From the very beginning as spiritual leader, he wanted to work to remove the division that existed in the country so that unity could reign. Whatever the burden he would have to shoulder, he wanted to always spread the message that all were brethren in Christ.

He wanted to show that this also meant that the Church had space for all who wanted to accept the Lord's invitation to be part of it. Mgr Mercieca said he wanted the foundations of his work for unity to be based on the fact that God embraced and welcomed everyone, whatever they did and whoever they were.

During his ministry, he kept praying to God to help him to continue to love and to continue to be a voice which insisted on the common good and to continue to be an instrument of peace and unity, whatever personal sacrifice this entailed.

The outgoing Archbishop welcomed his successor and congratulated him on his choice of motto Inhejju t-Triq ghall-Mulej - Preparing the Way for the Lord. In choosing this motto, Mgr Cremona was showing spiritual wisdom, Mgr Mercieca said.

At the end of the Mass, Mgr Cremona, on behalf of the Archdiocese of Malta, presented Mgr Mercieca with a gold-plated silver chalice.

Mgr Mercieca later spent some moments with the public in the Church and outside. Some of those who approached to wish him farewell could be seen shedding tears.