It is indeed unfortunate that the sale of a parcel of land in Għargħur by the Church has been twisted and exploited to such an extent that some went as far as accusing Archbishop Charles Scicluna of naivety and, worse, hypocrisy.

This because the Archbishop had the courage to call out the culture of greed and because he made a heartfelt appeal to everyone to give more careful consideration to the type of developments we permit in our towns and villages. 

At no point did the Archbishop in his Independence Day homily state that development in Malta should not take place – as some have sought to portray to further their own ends… Read more »

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, President of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, is the new President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE). He was elected by the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, gathered together in Rome for their Plenary Assembly.
H.E. Monsignor Gintaras Grušas, 60, takes over as president from Italian Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, who led CCEE from 2016 to 2021.

The two new Vice Presidents were also elected: Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, and H.E… Read more »

The second day of the CCEE Plenary Assembly opened with a greeting from Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. Outlining the prospects for a new Europe, the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference said that he dreamt of a Europe based on solidarity, with the dignity of the person at its centre, and which knows how to be a common home. “This continent,” Cardinal Bassetti hoped, will be “above all a place of the soul with a profound, ancient and complex history”… Read more »

Pope Francis celebrates Mass to open the CCEE plenary assembly on Thursday evening 

In his homily at Mass with the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) on Thursday, Pope Francis reflected on “three words that challenge us as Christians and Bishops in Europe: reflect, rebuild and see.”

Bishops from across Europe are in Rome to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the CCEE with a plenary conference on 23-26 September… Read more »

Photo: Leonardo Bellotti

The Jubilee Assembly of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences will begin tomorrow afternoon with Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica. At the end of the Holy Mass, the participants in the Plenary Assembly will gather together at Peter’s tomb to renew their profession of faith. After a period of silence and a moment of personal prayer at the tombs of St Paul VI and Pope John Paul I, they will conclude their brief pilgrimage of gratitude to the popes who have accompanied the CCEE over the past 50 years at the tomb of St John Paul II with the recitation of the prayer to Mary, Mother of Europe, written by the holy Polish pope himself at the conclusion of his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Europa… Read more »

Archbishop Charles Scicluna visited and blessed the soup kitchen run by the Franciscan Friars (Ta’ Giezu) in Valletta. Fr Marcellino Micallef OFM and Dr Alexiei Dingli explained to the Archbishop the work involved to run ‘Soup Kitchen OFM Valletta’ which will feed around 100 persons on a daily basis.

The Archbishop also met volunteers and signed the guest book where he left the following message:

“I impart every blessing and prosperity to all the people of goodwill, who have worked or work in the OFM Soup Kitchen in Valletta and believe in the motto ‘Life with Dignity’; to the guests who sit at the table of love in the spirit of St Francis, with a broken heart but with hope instilled in their soul; and to all the benefactors of this initiative, this work of mercy.”

Fr Marcellino Micallef OFM explained to Archbishop Scicluna that the ‘Soup Kitchen OFM Valletta’ is inspired by the Gospel according to St Luke: “You give them something to eat” (Lk 9:13)… Read more »