From Dr E. Bezzina LL.D

The Catholic Church has, officially, approximately one billion faithful. In reality everyone is well aware (and when I write “everyone” it indeed implies everyone because it is an established fact) that this is not the case. A large percentage of this approximate one billion, about 17 per cent of the world’s inhabitants, are indeed people who have been baptised without their consent, and are now not only non-practising Catholics, but believe in principles that officially run counter to Catholic Church teachings, nay papal teachings.

It is my humble belief, and apparently that of many, that papal teachings within the Catholic Church do not always tally with the feelings and beliefs of a section of practising Catholics, with the actual alleged sayings of Christ, with God’s commandments, with spiritual interpretations by intellectuals of various denominations, and certainly with the way of life of the rest of the world’s inhabitants, that is 83 per cent of the world’s population.

Considering that Catholic Church teachings have varied occasionally and at times very substantially, (my concept of Catholicism when I was a child is completely different today, not only from my adult perspective but in accordance with the realities of our times!), it follows that much depends on who is at the helm of this powerful, in every aspect, Catholic Church, except for one aspect.

The Catholic Church is not powerful where it matters most – namely the inner and personal conviction of a substantial number of its adherents about aspects of its teachings, such as matters that relate to divorce and abortion, which the late John Paul II was very adamant on.

The Catholic Church must come to terms with the realities of modern day living – in our insignificance with the rest of the world, boastful as we are of our achievements, I cannot but agree with our President, Eddie Fenech Adami that in this context the leaders of our local Catholic community must go, and be replaced with leaders who not only comprehend the exigencies of this modern world but are prepared to put them into practice when advising members of their flock.

Divorce and abortion are but two of the many aspects of current Catholic Church teachings that have to be seriously reviewed and restructured in line with modern patterns of social behaviour where taboos, inhibitions and hypocrisies are becoming less and less the order of the day, to the new credos of modern, ordinary people who members of a cosmic world and an Internet society.

These are but a few preliminary points; there are many more that will have to be faced and resolved by the new Pope and his large team of advisers if the tag of one billion adherents is to have social significance anymore, apart that is from the mystery and pomp that surround the inner and outer circles of the Catholic Church: Habemus Papam, but for whom?

Emy Bezzina

VALLETTA