The appointment of Fr Paul Cremona as the new archbishop of Malta is very welcome news, not just for Catholics but also for all people of good will in Malta.

Those who, over the years, have come in contact with this intelligent, humble and soft-spoken friar have nothing but praise for him. He is unassuming and shuns the limelight, which is where he will now live. The task facing him is one that would daunt any person and Fr Cremona was right to ask one and all for their prayers yesterday. He certainly needs them.

The appointment of a religious to head the archdiocese of Malta might seem rather strange, since we have become used to the post of archbishop being filled by a diocesan priest, at least ever since Archbishop Gonzi in the 1940s. However, there is another less known fact: this is the first time in well over a century that a priest from Malta has been chosen: ever since Archbishop Pietro Pace, who came from Gozo, no one has been chosen from among the priests in Malta – not Archbishop Mauro Caruana who came from Fort Augustus, Scotland, nor Archbishop Michael Gonzi who came from Gozo (although he was Maltese) nor Archbishop Mercieca who came from the Vatican and from Gozo.

Certainly, Fr Cremona was not one of the names mentioned so often in the media over the past months, and this, rather than being a disadvantage, has turned out to be an advantage. Too many times, he who enters the conclave as pope comes out a cardinal; apparently, many power games were being played in the past weeks and months, so much so that people, those who came in contact with what was being said, were shocked to the core. The names that were mentioned are all honourable and just men, but why was there so much jockeying, so much rumours of alliances and coalitions? There is sweet justice in considering that here is a man who had absolutely no ambition to become archbishop and, wonder of wonders, he was the chosen one.

This time round, at least, the Vatican refused to succumb to outside pressures, such as it did at other times, during World War II, and to the underground pressure groups to rush an appointment that needed careful reflection.

For all evidence is there to show that the church in Malta is not passing through a good time and its future is bleak. Beyond personal preferences, it was important to give the Catholic Church in Malta a new chance, a new beginning.

For what is threatening the church and the Catholic faith is not coming from outside, but right from inside. The church has become irrelevant and nowhere visible where it really matters – in the struggle to attain credence and to win over minds. Church attendance is on the decline, and many who do go have their own doubts about some of the church’s teachings. There are still many wonderful priests and religious but, like everywhere else, there have also been scandals and claims of cover-ups. Too many times it has seemed that the urge to defend the church has led to things being covered up and hidden when they should have been eradicated.

The church is still perceived as the organiser of the summer festas, and still not enough as the provider of concrete charity, not enough as the denouncer of social evil. Its words on social change is still one of resistance and negativity. And all the time, there were, and are, so many people out there seeking a reason for living and facing so many personal problems. The church may have kept divorce at bay, but it has not prevented so many marriages falling apart; it has kept Malta Catholic but has not stopped Maltese hating Maltese.

Fr Cremona’s first words, said in the heat of yesterday’s emotion, augur well: he returned to speaking about Christ and the Gospel. All Maltese of good will, whatever their religious belief, wish him well and will pray for him.