Fr Fabio Attard has denied rumours of him being selected as Malta's next Archbishop.

Following reports by certain websites popping up on Facebook regarding Fr Fabio Attard being the frontrunner for Malta's next Archbishop, this newsroom quickly contacted him and he denied it.

In October, Malta's Archbishop Paul Cremona resigned from his post, citing his struggle with his mental health as his reason.

The resignation came in the wake of reports that the Church in Malta was demoralised and needed a new leader. Priests had also expressed the concern about what they called a leadership vacuum.

Mgr Cremona took over in 2007 and immediately came face to face with huge indifference towards the Church, which also culminated in the campaign to introduce divorce in 2011 leading up to a referendum which dealt a significant blow to the Church. This was followed up this year with the introduction of civil unions, another issue that had the Church almost alone in opposition.