Archpriest 'resigns' in Gozo

The archpriest of the cathedral in Gozo yesterday handed in his resignation which, however, was not accepted by the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Nikol Cauchi.

The archpriest, Mgr Joe Vella Gauci, said when contacted that although the bishop had returned his resignation letter he had sent it back to the Curia.

Behind the resignation lies the thorny issue that has been brewing since last Christmas. It involves an agreement going back to 1976 which stipulates that the organisation of the Good Friday procession in Victoria was to alternate between the Cathedral and the parish of St George.

The agreement was signed by La Stella Society and the parish of St George on one side and the Leone Society and the cathedral on the other.

When advice was sought in 1999 from the Congregation of the Divine Cult in Rome, Cardinal James Knox had made it clear it would be completely wrong for there to be two processions on Good Friday.

Hence the agreement to take it in turns and this year it is down to the cathedral to organise the procession.

Several days ago, it became known that the parish of St George expressed the desire to hold a procession in the morning on Good Friday to mark Eucharistic Year. When Leone Society got wind of this they applied for a police permit to hold band marches on Good Friday morning and La Stella followed suit.

Both applications were however turned down by the police.

Mgr Vella Gauci said that during a meeting at the Curia on Monday he was aggrieved when he felt that the Church authorities were looking on the parties to this issue as if both were on the same footing when, in fact, it was the cathedral's turn to organise the Good Friday procession.

He said that when rumours doing the rounds raised fears that this sacred occasion could cause a rift between the two parishes he had no other way but to resign.

"Such a confusing scenario would neither be beneficial for the diocese nor for the people of Victoria. This will be a Black Friday on the basis of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

"I would never dream, let alone accept, that I would be part of this debacle. So much energy that ought to have been expended on much needed plans for the benefit of parishioners has now been lost.

"For the Maltese, this might look like a cock fight between two archpriests but this is far from the truth. Such a negative spectacle would harm the faith as well as the faithful. This would not be religion but folklore," Mgr Vella Gauci said.