Priests' convention finds fruitful outcome on Gozo ferry

The ferry trip from Gozo to Malta bringing to an end the International Convention of Priests last Friday was perhaps one of the most fruitful results of that conference, Fr Peter Krakovia, a Polish priest who attended the meeting said yesterday.

The ferry was carrying not only priests but cardinals and bishops who usually travel separately.

"Having so many members of the senior hierarchy of the Catholic Church together who usually are not in direct contact with the ordinary priests was a great experience.

"After the initial cold moments watching each other with suspicion, the ice broke and suddenly the frigid atmosphere turned into a warm camaraderie free of fear and prejudice," Fr Krakovia told The Times.

Communication among the hierarchy of the Church is often striven for but rarely achieved, however the ferry trip turned out to be the ideal medium to start a dialogue helping the prelates to get to know each other better, Fr Krakovia explained.

"This hearty dialogue in the channel between the two islands proved to be one of the fruitful outcomes of the international convention of priests.

"In fact greetings were broadcast by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State to the passengers through the captain's microphone."

Fr Krakovia was speaking on behalf of eight Polish priests who had made the trip to Malta from Dubrovnik on board a sailing boat belonging to the sailing school of which the priests are members.

Along the way while riding the high seas, the boat was caught in the eye of a storm and although the captain and crew escaped unhurt the mast of the vessel was smashed.

With the assistance of Krystyna Mikulanka, honorary consul for Malta in Poland and of Stephen Parnis England, honorary consul for Poland in Malta, the crew made a stop in Brindisi, in Italy to effect temporary repairs to the sailing boat.

The priests had likened their mishap to the shipwreck of St Paul in Malta while on his way to Rome in 60 AD, and to the struggles that the Polish Catholic Church had to endure under hostile Communist regimes.

Of the crew of priests who made it to Malta, albeit late for the convention, Fr Krakovia said that during the trip to Gozo, Cardinal Sodano had asked Archbishop Joseph Mercieca about the Polish priests who incidentally were talking to Mgr Mercieca at that very moment.

"Greeting us, the Cardinal told us how the story of the storm reported in The Times had been picked up by the national press in Poland and how the Pope had come to hear about it.

"The Cardinal informed us that he would be telling his Holiness about his meeting with us," Fr Krakovia added.

The Polish priests, much like the rest of the delegates, were immensely impressed by the warm welcome they were accorded here.

"The people we met here were also overwhelmed telling us they had never seen so many priests at any one time. The people here bent over backwards to communicate with us speaking in as many languages as possible," Fr Krakovia recalled.

During a meeting the Polish priests had with President Eddie Fenech Adami, they expressed their wish to extend their sailing school to Malta and eventually to other EU countries.

Fr Krakovia, who is active in the Hospice Movement in his country, has come to know of the Hospice Movement here and intends to extend the movement's aims up to EU level.

"While I enjoy my work assisting young people to enjoy the benefits of an active life at sea, the voluntary work I do with the Hospice Movement brings me face to face with another reality where people need a helping hand during moments of pain and uncertainty," Fr Krakovia added.

The boat the Polish priests came in, called Guard of the Dawn, has been docked here to be repaired and will be picked up early next spring.

The boat's name was derived from the title that Pope John Paul II bestowed on young people when he attended a rally for youth in Toronto earlier this year.