Thank you, Mgr Mercieca

The thanksgiving Mass celebrated last Thursday was a beautiful send-off for Archbishop Joseph Mercieca.

The number of concelebrating priests and the large congregation were a sign of the appreciation of the Maltese people for the work done by Mgr Mercieca.

The day started on a very positive note when the government's Department of Information released a letter of thanks sent by President Eddie Fenech Adami to Archbishop Mercieca. Dr Fenech Adami described Mgr Mercieca's episcopate as "wise and prudent". The President's words represented the feeling of the active and large congregation that filled St John's Co-Cathedral in the evening.

The 30-year episcopate of Mgr Mercieca was heavily marked with stormy relations between the Church and the state. The Archbishop had to carry that unenviable cross for years on end. He suffered in silence. One should remember how difficult it was to adopt a winning strategy in those difficult times.

Mgr Mercieca was surrounded by an angry mob twice - at Paola and Vittoriosa - and had to seek refuge inside a building. A bomb was placed on the doorstep of his palace at Mdina. The Curia was ransacked. He never panicked. He never showed anger or resentment. He never said anything that could add fuel to the fire.

History has shown that his stance was substantially correct and his prudence, together with that of others, helped this country to avoid uncontrollable violence, if not civil war. He was not bent on confrontation. On the contrary, he was wrongly accused of a defeatist attitude.

His critics were mistaken. The very tactical and greatly effective moves, which at that time seemed to be retreats, were in fact real advances. The end results - also helped by a change in government in 1987 - were the most positive the Church could hope for in the circumstances.

Archbishop Mercieca was also wise enough to hold fast on principles - the Church schools and the property struggles involved important principles - without alienating the grass roots of the Labour Party who initiated the same battles.

The other big front for Mgr Mercieca was the relationship between the Church and a pluralist society. His preparation for this front was not as good as his preparation for the Church-State front. Someone better culturally prepared could have achieved better results in this area.

Secularisation has made strong inroads. But, to be fair, one must add that this applies to several other counties. Even here, Mgr Mercieca took a number of courageous stands. Anyone who leafs through his published speeches can see that the Archbishop was not the silent prelate that many perceived him to be.

His homily last Thursday is another example of what we have just written. His defence of the family was a hallmark of his episcopate and marked it till the very end.

In 30 years he never found time to start and conclude a pastoral visit to Malta's parishes. That is a notable minus. He believed in persons more than in structures but he radically restructured the Curia. He also was the first bishop in hundreds of years to hold a diocesan synod. The positive effects of this synod are still being felt and experienced gradually.

The work done during the Synod should provide Archbishop Cremona with a very good launching pad.

Archbishop Mercieca was humble, approachable and unassuming. He cared about the feeling and needs of others. His was more of a socio-humane-oriented kind of leadership than a task-oriented one.

But his limited managerial skills sometimes created - unwillingly - problems for different individuals. Nevertheless, he helped thousands of people in characteristic silent - almost secret - manner.

Thirty years is a very long time. One cannot assess it in a few words. His contribution was very great, his generosity greater and his dedication was the greatest. We wish him a long life of service to the Church at the local and international level. We augur that he could also find the time to rest and perhaps do those things that he would have liked to do but could not because of his onerous position.

Thank you, Mgr Mercieca.