On the solemnity of the Shipwreck of St Paul in Malta, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and President George Vella announced that Pope Francis would be visiting Malta in May. His visit will coincide with the feast of Pentecost.
This will be the fourth visit by a pontiff to our shores; Pope St John Paul II visited in 1990 and 2001 while Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2010.
In a pastoral letter, the bishops of Malta and Gozo outlined some of the main points of this visit.
The theme of this papal trip is derived on the passage in Acts 28 where the Maltese welcomed the Apostle to the Gentiles “with unusual kindness”.
The same dangerous seas which brought Paul to Malta are also a vast grave where thousands who tried to cross into Europe lost their life. Thus, the pontiff expressed a desire to meet migrants who survived this journey.
The bishops also describe this papal visit as an opportunity for us to think about our faith, and how this shapes our attitudes: “We are called to give witness of the value of life especially with the weakest, the vulnerable, the suffering who are crying out for help, and those who are most at risk and whose lives are in peril.”
These points challenge us to undertake a more in-depth reflection.
Firstly, the narrative in Acts 28 is rich and poignant. The “unusual kindness” shown was exemplified by Publius, the chief official of the island. Here, Paul is given a warm welcome and Publius emerges from the narrative as an excellent model for how a leader moulded in Christ should behave. He is hospitable, pleasant, open to prayer and open to the Gospel.
This episode in Acts 28 is punctuated by another event which is often overlooked in the narrative (though not in iconography). The islanders also appear to be somewhat superficial and mercurial.
When the viper clings on to Paul’s hand, they speculate that “this man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” However, when Paul is unharmed, and when he shakes the snake off, the islanders make a complete U-turn and describe him as “a god.”
Such extremes still exist in our society. Public discourse often fluctuates from one extreme to another, with people who hold similar opinions portrayed as demi-gods while those with opposing views depicted as the devil incarnate. Over the years, this attitude has poisoned much of our public discourse, thus creating a polarised society with weak institutional frameworks lacking popular legitimacy.
That the Pope chose Pentecost to visit Malta is providential. After all, Pentecost – commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles – marks the day when courage overcame fear; when those who cowered in the upper room found the strength to go out and preach the Good News. Despite the varied audience and the different languages, the message was understood by everyone.
In effect, they were people who were changed by the message they preached.
Pope Francis’ visit should be an opportunity to hark back to the message which Paul sought to bring to these shores
The successor of Peter comes to the island of Paul to preach the same message; one which is not rooted in some constructed vision of national identity but, instead, of shared humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, and endowed with precious personal dignity.
The arrival of the Pope from Rome to Malta – from the supposed core to the periphery – continues to build on the theme of this pontificate.
Perhaps Malta may not fit in the core/periphery dichotomy preferred by scholars in political science.
Malta is not the ‘core’, in that it is not the locus of power or wealth. Nonetheless, it is neither a ‘periphery’ in this understanding of the word since it is a place where some degree of innovation and economic wealth is created.
We can, however, speak of cores and peripheries in our midst. After all, these two distinct realities unfold side by side in this tiny archipelago. The recent political crises and the social challenges emerging in the past few years have exposed this phenomenon further.
The sense of helplessness experienced by those who are detached from the centres of power – be it economic, financial and political power – stands instark contrast with those who act with relative impunity.
This visit may be an opportunity for a deeper reflection on the periphery in our midst. In addition to migrants and migrant workers, others are slowly but surely being eased out of the public life of the country.
These issues inform the fundamental reason behind this visit – that of giving witness to the most vulnerable and of rediscovering the notion of “unusual kindness.”
Pope Francis’s visit should be an opportunity to hark back to the message which Paul sought to bring to these shores. It remains a message which is as pressing now as it was in Paul’s time.
The message of Christ, after all, is not necessarily one of abstract unity but of disruption; of challenging attitudes and encouraging change which is not rooted in political whims and fads but something far greater than the sum of the individual.
It is because of this final point that the theme chosen for this visit is particularly apt. The “unusual kindness” we read about in Acts 28 should be viewed as less of a flattering comment and more of a benchmark – a standard which is much needed, not only with those who come to our shores but also among ourselves as a society.