As rumours and expectations that Malta will soon have a new archbishop increase and mount, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca himself is understood to have given the broadest hint he will soon step down once his successor is named.
According to priests who attended the annual meeting held earlier last week by the archbishop for missionaries who are on vacation in Malta, Mgr Mercieca reportedly spoke of his “last days as archbishop”.
Mgr Mercieca leaves today on the annual sick people’s pilgrimage to Lourdes.
The past days too have been remarkable in long, acrid and sustained attacks on Mgr Mercieca carried on Wednesday and on Friday on the Labour website maltastar.com.
On Wednesday the website said that Curia insiders told it that the appointment of the Dominican, Fr George Frendo as Auxiliary Bishop of Tirana – Durres in Albania “is confirmation that Archbishop Joseph Mercieca is winning his battle to get his nominee appointed to succeed him”.
maltastar.com added it has been told that the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Felix del Blanco Prieto, was very strongly in favour of Fr Frendo succeeding Archbishop Mercieca.
The website added that Fr Frendo was on the short list of three candidates leaked to the media last month after the Maltese Catholic Church’s weekly newspaper, Il-Gens said that the consultation process had begun.
The same Curia insiders were also reported to have told maltastar.com that the names mentioned in some of the Sunday papers on 11 June were at best leaked to throw people off track or, at worse, to endanger their chances.
Along with Fr Frendo, the other priests mentioned in the leaked shortlist were Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who works in the Roman Curia and was a close collaborator of Pope Benedict when he headed the congregation for doctrine and faith, and Monsignor Lawrence Gatt who is the director of the Church run Siggiewi homes for the disabled.
The same website on Friday carried a particularly aggressive article in which it claimed Mgr Mercieca is a past player in church inside fighting.