Mgr Scicluna when he was ordained as Auxillary Bishop in 2012. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Mgr Charles Scicluna will be Malta’s new Archbishop, ending four months of speculation over Mgr Paul Cremona’s successor, according to Curia sources.

The 55-year-old bishop, who has been filling in as Apostolic Administrator in the absence of an archbishop, had served as Auxiliary Bishop since 2012.

His appointment will mean Malta’s Archdiocese will have an Archbishop by Easter, the Catholic Church’s most important feast. The official announcement is expected tomorrow.

News of Mgr Scicluna’s appointment yesterday came as no surprise to many of the island’s faithful as he was already being touted as Malta’s archbishop-in-waiting when he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop three years ago.

Back then, the media savvy monsignor had shrugged off speculation over any future appointments, flashing his trademark smile and saying he did not have “a crystal ball to look into the future”.

The right man for the job

Fr Joe Borg, who was the first to publicly voice his concern about the Church’s leadership in crisis, welcomed the news of Mgr Scicluna’s upcoming appointment and said he was “the right man for the job”.

‘He’s the man to build bridges’

“I think he is the man to build bridges. He is an opinionated man of strong convictions, yet he has no problem offering an apology where necessary, such as to the gay community,” he said, when contacted yesterday.

Fr Borg said these qualities made Mgr Scicluna the right person to open a dialogue with contemporary society; something he felt was one of the main challenges facing the Maltese Church today.

Last August Fr Borg, a media specialist, wrote in his The Sunday Times of Malta column that the Church’s leadership was in crisis, a sentiment echoed by numerous other clergy that Mgr Cremona later said had “accelerated” his departure.

Asked if Mgr Scicluna would inject the needed energy into the Curia, Fr Borg skirted the question, saying “any change is a dose of vitality in itself”.

Then Archbishop Paul Cremona (second right) with Mgr Scicluna at the latter’s Episcopal Ordination.

He is a man who takes decisions when they need to be taken

“He is a man who takes decisions when they need to be taken,” he added, when asked where his faith in Mgr Scicluna stemmed from.

This, he said, had already been made clear since his appointment as Apostolic Administrator while the Maltese Church was in sede vacante. Speaking about the challenges facing Mgr Scicluna when he takes over the leadership of the Maltese Church, Fr Borg said his first task would be to “choose the team around him”.

“It’s not just about one’s personal capabilities. The big question he will face now is who to have around him,” he said, referring to the positions occupied in the Curia.

When he accepts Pope Francis’s nomination, Mgr Scicluna will become the 114th person to head the Maltese Church since Bishop St Publius in AD 60.

Mgr Scicluna had served as the Vatican’s chief prosecutor on sex abuse cases involving the clergy prior to his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop. More recently, he was appointed president of a Vatican appeals body dealing with serious offences committed by priests. This appointment, however, will not interfere with his position as Archbishop and he will be able to assume both roles.

He was also chosen in 1996 to be the third postulator pushing the cause for the eventual beatification of Dun Ġorġ Preca, Malta’s first saint.

Mgr Scicluna will replace Mgr Cremona who became the first head of the Maltese Church to step down since the 19th century. He resigned in October citing “health reasons” and had dismissed claims he was suffering from mental health problems.

Fr Renè Camilleri, who heads the secretariat for catechesis, had also highlighted the need for change within the Church. He yesterday said Mgr Scicluna’s appointment had been “an open secret for several months”.

From left: Lawyer David Farrugia Sacco, Saviour Farrugia, 60, and Antonio Farrugia, 68, at court yesterday. Photos: Chris Sant Fournier

Fr Joe Inguanez, who heads the Church’s research body Discern, said he would have been surprised if Mgr Scicluna had not been appointed.

I hope we will keep the same relationship where the State and the Church remain separated but working together for the good of the country, especially in the social field, the work with children and old people, as well as education

“Given all the work he has done in Rome, and his appointment as Apostolic Administrator, I think it should come as no surprise,” he said, adding that he had no knowledge of any efforts to lobby for any others to take up the post.

Other clergymen, however, appeared less enthusiastic.

Fr Ang Seychell, the founder of Jesus of Nazareth Foundation, a charity for people with disabilities, said: “Now that he has been appointed we will have to accept and cooperate with him, with all our hearts. We will pray that he will be the Archbishop we truly do need.”

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday congratulated Mgr Scicluna on his appointment in a tweet after timesofmalta.com broke the news that he would be appointed tomorrow.

He later told Times of Malta he had always enjoyed an open dialogue with Mgr Scicluna and that the bishop would find “an honest interlocutor” in the government.

“My experience of Mgr Scicluna has been a frank and open one. I hope we will keep the same relationship where the State and the Church remain separated but working together for the good of the country, especially in the social field, the work with children and old people, as well as education,” he said.

In a separate tweet, Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil also congratulated the Bishop.

He told Times of Malta Mgr Scicluna had a keen understanding of all modes of communication and would help the Church get its message across. On a personal note, he said Mgr Scicluna was capable of touching people’s hearts.

Journey of archbishop-to-be

Born on May 15, 1959, in Toronto, Canada to Maltese parents, Mgr Scicluna returned to the island when he was just an 11-month-old baby.

The family lived in Qormi, where the young boy spent most of his childhood until he was 17, before moving to Lija. He went to school at St Edward’s College and later to the University of Malta.

He continued his studies in Rome, graduating with a degree in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and quickly climbed the holy rungs of success – he immediately caught the attention of his superiors who wanted him to remain in Rome.

The Archbishop wanted him back to become defender of the bond at the Maltese ecclesiastical tribunal in marriage nullity cases and lecturer of canon law at the university.

During this time he served in the parishes of Attard, St Gregory’s in Sliema and Iklin. He also served as vice rector at the Major Seminary between 1994 and 1995.

In 1995 he accepted Pope John Paul II’s nomination as Substitute Promoter of Justice of the former Holy Office.

In 1996, he was chosen to be the third postulator pushing the cause for the eventual beatification of Dun Ġorġ Preca, founder of the Society for Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM), a feat he achieved five years later.

Around the year 2000 whispers had already started sweeping the Vatican’s corridors that he could be the successor to then Archbishop Joseph Mercieca, and his name has kept cropping up among the favourites ever since.

In 2002, Mgr Scicluna was appointed to investigate allegations of sexual abuse made about Church members, working alongside Cardinal Ratzinger and then Pope Benedict XVI in the battle against clerical paedophilia.

Mgr Scicluna held the role of Promoter of Justice of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith until November 2012, before becoming Auxiliary Bishop. The Pope had chosen Mgr Scicluna to help Archbishop Emeritus Paul Cremona – who was hampered by health problems – run the Maltese Church.

On October 18, 2014, Mgr Scicluna was appointed Apostolic Administrator to head the diocese until a new archbishop was nominated.