From Mr J. Caruana

I am writing this letter to express my utmost disapproval of the comments made by Charles Flores in his article “Gozitan dinosaurs and the missing link” (TMIS, 30 September). The way Charles Flores portrayed life in Gozo, particularly in Victoria, is simply disgusting. While I do abhor any form of parochialism, I definitely do not approve of names such as “dinosaurs” in his article. If anything, this form of writing simply exhibits the chauvinistic nature of certain individuals.

To begin with, let me clarify two points. First of all, many doubt the true reasons for the removal of the previous Cathedral archpriest and feel that the rationale communicated by the Curia – that is, better control of parochialism, is simply a futile attempt to hide numerous other problems and undercurrents, some of which are not quite idyllic. But let us not go there.

Secondly, from what I have followed, the protest by the particular band club has an aim of which Mr Flores does not seem to be aware. All previous Cathedral archpriests were treated with dignity after being dismissed – but not in this case, even though the archpriest in question had resigned his post as lecturer at the University of Malta in order to fulfil his mission better. That is the reason for the protest – to defend the rights of a citizen. That does not seem to be an act that a “dinosaur”, to use Mr Flores’ own deplorable title, would do. But now, let me turn your attention to another matter.

I really feel that I must take issue with the objectionable tone Mr Flores used in his description of Gozitans. Firstly, he comes out with an immature statement where he declares that “it is very difficult to halt the normal tempo of a Gozitan town or village, because it hardly exists”. Then he goes on to add the redundant rhetoric question, “Can something that does not exist actually be stopped or suspended, slowed down, downgraded or reduced?” in a childish attempt to outline some kind of philosophical proclamation. Well, he must surely know that tempos come with different beats – and life in Gozo is quite tranquil when compared with life in Malta. But does that imply a lack of civilised thought?

Of course, Mr. Flores was careful not to include this implication directly, but people do know how to read between the lines, and his underlying message came through all the same. Other remarks made by Mr Flores such as “pathetic spectacle of medieval thinking” and “crowd of angry villagers” further augment the feeling of looking down on Gozitans.

Mr Flores states that he does not dare speak for the Gozitans regarding the distinction between civil authorities and their ecclesiastical counterparts. But in the very same paragraph he contradicts his own statement and decides to speak for them, stating that many young Gozitans are leaving the island because “they simply could not stomach the dinosaurs among them any longer”.

Now, who is Mr Flores to make such a blatantly false and insulting assertion? Young Gozitans must leave the island for two simple reasons. Firstly, those who wish to further their studies have to attend university in Malta. Secondly, since Gozo is physically small there are not so many opportunities available, especially for those who have specialised in certain areas of study. But apparently Mr Flores is not aware of this either. The irony is that instead of spending some time to inform himself about the true facts, he wastes it calling people names.

Let me now turn to some other facts. While I agree that parochialism truly is medieval, I must note that from what I have followed, the particular protesting band club had sought to meet the current bishop a number of times in order to discuss this problem and put an end to such childish manifestations – but the bishop did not cooperate. That puts into question as to who thinks in terms of medieval concepts.

Subsequently, a local newspaper quoted sources close to the Curia as saying that the previous archpriest was dismissed in order to control parochialism. It does not take much intelligence to see why members of this club reacted.

Firstly, it was not the archpriest that instilled parochialism. Secondly, why didn’t the bishop discuss matters when asked to? It is not a medieval act to try and discuss issues around a table – but it is a medieval act to direct your head skywards ignoring all attempts at communication. The cherry on the cake was when the bishop himself sent a letter of apology to the previous archpriest! Now what kind of logic is that? Perhaps, it would be better for Mr Flores to know the facts before proclaiming erroneous statements.

I do not want to sound parochial in any way – if there is anything of which I have always been in favour, it is the secularisation of society. However, the situation of having a group of people seeking to discuss an issue with the Bishop who in turn turns a snobby nose does remind me of medieval times when the Church acted as an imposing figure commanding authority and fear. Indeed, that is something the Gozo Curia and the current medieval prince dressed up as a bishop are demonstrating by their actions – and I am not referring only to this particular case.

This event only hints at the thorny state of affairs consisting of layers upon layers of trickery going on in the Gozo Curia. If this trickery were to be played only within the Church and its members, then I would not even comment about it – it would be a problem in their own circles.

The worrying thing is that this same trickery (and manipulation) is working itself into wider and wider circles involving the secular domain as well. One should not allow the Gozo Curia to tarnish one’s judgement of affairs by a single statement, namely that the cathedral archpriest has been removed in order to control parochialism. Hopefully, people will not be blinded by superficial gestures. Unfortunately, much more complex machinery is in motion.

Perhaps Mr Flores’ word “cobwebs” would be a good way to describe it. It is convenient to use one hand in public to refer to an action as an attempt to undermine parochialism, while the other hand secretly drives the motor of deceit.

Joseph Caruana

GHAJNSIELEM