Abstract Although officially the relations between the Maltese Church and current Labour administration are cordial – indeed the two often collaborating to assist the most vulnerable – one can still sense a level of animosity towards the Church from some Labour supporters. These past four years, the contribution of ecclesiastical authorities in the public sphere has been met with anger by those who claim the Church should not be involved in “politics” while recalling the turbulent sittinijiet as a time when the Church aggressively opposed the Labour Party and its supporters. This conflation of partisanship with politics would seem to limit the local church from being prophetic in the public sphere and this study suggests that this is because past wounds have not healed. The study focuses on this particular historical period, in its political, cultural and ecclesiological context. The first chapter analyses why the sittinijiet were the genesis of a traumatic experience for Labour supporters, while the second chapter seeks to understand why the wound seems to persist to this day. The theory of cultural trauma, as developed by Alexander and Eyerman, together with various sociological constructs that explain the deep factionalism that characterizes Maltese culture, offer a robust hermeneutic to explain why these echoes of trauma are still evident today. But, as the third chapter shows, the local church has done little to heal these wounds that partly continue to fester because our ecclesiology also continues to echo a pre-VCII mindset. Thus, the chapter will proceed to argue for a renewal of our understanding of church as “kenotic” and to propose a model of being church in the world that lives Christ’s kingship as servanthood, his priesthood as healing and his prophetic office as witnessing a politics grounded in communal living. The healing and reconciling of our turbulent Maltese past is also about our ongoing conversion as local church. Keywords Church and Politics, sittinijiet; cultural trauma; healing and reconciliation; Church in Malta. To those who have suffered; hopeful that their woundedness may be healed. Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................viii Introduction: A Prophetic Church that contributes to the public sphere ....................... 1 Chapter 1: Genesis of a festering wound .............................................................................. 6 1.1 The emergence of the Maltese State and the weaking of a theocracy ................................ 6 1.2 Safeguarding souls: ................................................................................................................. 11 the reasons behind the struggles ................................................................................................. 11 1.2.1 Pulpit above throne .......................................................................................................... 12 1.2.2 Constantinianism and clericalism .................................................................................. 16 1.2.3 The condemnation of Communism ............................................................................... 22 1.3 The politico-religious clashes in Malta ................................................................................. 26 1.3.1 The first clash: Strickland vs Caruana ........................................................................... 26 1.3.2 The second (series of) clash(es): Gonzi vs Mintoff ....................................................... 29 1.4 Summary................................................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 2: Perpetuating the wound ..................................................................................... 56 2.1 Creating a trauma .................................................................................................................... 56 2.1.1 Cultural trauma: a social process ................................................................................... 57 2.1.2 Perceiving victimhood ..................................................................................................... 60 2.2 Remembering, narrating and grouping: a case for a Maltese cultural truama? ............. 64 2.2.1 Creating a narrative and its effects ................................................................................ 64 2.2.2 Passing on the narrative .................................................................................................. 69 2.2.3 Identity and group consciousness leading to factionalism ........................................ 72 2.2.4 A case for a Maltese cultural trauma ............................................................................. 74 2.3 The Maltese fertile ground ..................................................................................................... 81 2.3.1 Us-them factionalism ....................................................................................................... 81 2.3.2 Zero-sum game politics ................................................................................................... 85 v 2.3.3 Patronage ........................................................................................................................... 88 2.3.4 Amoral familism ............................................................................................................... 94 2.4 Summary................................................................................................................................... 96 Chapter 3: Church as community: agent, space and presence for healing and reconciliation ............................................... 97 3.1 Forming community ............................................................................................................... 97 3.1.1 Church as koinonía: an ecclesiology of kenosis ............................................................. 101 3.2 Kingship as service: Church as the communion of the laity conformed as alter Christus ..................................... 108 3.3 Priesthood as sanctifying: Church as agent, space and presence for healing and reconciliation .................................. 114 3.3.1 Healing and reconciling the sittinijiet .......................................................................... 115 3.3.2 Reconciliation: changing the status quo ....................................................................... 121 3.3.3 Repentance: a genuine ecclesial response which heals and restores wholeness ... 126 3.3.4 Regeneration: healing through a mimesis of blessing ............................................... 131 3.4 Prophecy as transforming presence: witnessing through encounter ............................. 134 3.4.1 Proposing the Gospel through the Social Teaching of the Church ......................... 138 3.4.2 The Church’s transformative presence within the public sphere ............................ 141 3.5 Summary................................................................................................................................. 146 Conclusion: Merciful discernment: healing and reconciling woundedness ............. 147 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 151 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 165 vi Acknowledgements Whole hearted gratitude goes to Dr Nadia Delicata, my tutor, who along this journey followed with great interest and enthusiasm my work. Leaving no stone unturned, she guided and encouraged me constantly, patiently discussing and listened to my ramblings so that I could clear my thoughts. I would also like to thank Prof. Edward Warrington my co-tutor for his insights, dedication and patience. My appreciation goes also to Prof. Joseph M. Pirotta for his advice on historical matters, and for taking time to review and discuss this work. Conversations with him and with H.E. Mgr. Charles J. Scicluna, H.E. Mgr. Mario Grech, H.E. Mgr. Joseph Galea Curmi, H.E. Dr Vanni Xuereb, Mgr. Francisco Javier Diaz Tenza, Mgr. Vincent Deguara, Mgr. Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici, Can. Nicholas Doublet, Fr Nicholas Aquilina and Mr Ranier Fsadni and many friends were all fruitful one way or another to get a clearer picture; I appreciated their willingness to spare some of their precious time. My gratitude goes also to my father for proofreading the text and my family for their encouragement and support, as well as to the staff of the Archbishop’s Seminary Library and Librerija Informa and Prof Vern Neufeld Redekop, Professor Emeritus of Conflict Studies Saint Paul University, Ottawa Canada for their help. Lastly my gratefulness goes to Fr John Ph. Curmi, Parish Priest of Imqabba, and the parishioners for their support and understanding. Without the backing of all these and the encouragement of many more, this work would not have seen the light of day. vii Abbreviations Magisterial Texts AA – Apostolicam Actuositatem