The fact that the Maltese Catholic Church seems to have realised that things are completely different from what they were 30 or 40 years ago is already a step forward. For a long time, the local curia seemed held back to the days when the Church was the be-all and end-all of Maltese society, and this distanced it further from the people who were already moving away from the Church.

Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona OP made it a point to speak about the challenges that the local curia is facing when he addressed the Synod of Bishops held in Rome last month.

The following excerpts from his speech clearly show that Mgr Cremona has understood that the Church’s influence in everyday life has continued to diminish.

Among other things, Mgr Cremona said: “Since the Catholic Church has not remained in a privileged position as it was (30 to 40 years ago)...”; “many are downhearted because statistics show falling numbers of people who go to Church...”; “many of our faithful remain in paralysing shock when the Church is criticised unjustly, or when abuse is hurtled at her...”

Such statements are an acknowledgement from the head of the local church that things are not well. It could also be interpreted as being a hint that the Church, as is happening elsewhere, is in a crisis – and the dwindling numbers at Sunday Masses are a confirmation that too many people no longer feel comfortable in the Church, or simply do not care about religion.

Considering that 40 years ago nearly everyone went to Sunday Mass and that the figures have steadily dropped to reach just over 53 per cent in the last census carried out in 2005 makes it clear that the Church is no longer “popular”.

To reverse the trend, or at least control the slide, the Church must not remain passive, as it did for too many years. When Mgr Cremona was appointed Archbishop early last year, the enthusiasm shown by the Maltese – and it is sure that many of the people who greeted him so warmly in Valletta and all the other places he visited before and after his appointment do not go to Sunday Mass – led many to believe that a change in the leadership would have brought about a renewal.

Yet, this was not so, and although it must be said that Mgr Cremona has remained a well-loved personality and that his approach is quite appealing, matters have not changed that much.

What is also questionable is that Mgr Cremona compared today’s Church with the suffering of early Christians. He said that the “new model of being Church and the model which corresponds most to today’s reality is the primitive Christian community” and that “we have to compare the Church today to, and shape it on, that community”.

The thing is, the two are completely dissimilar to each other, because the threats that today’s Church is facing are completely different from the threats that were faced by the early Christians.

The early Christians were persecuted by unbelievers, whereas today the Church is facing a tougher challenge which is called indifference. And if the Church wants to combat this phenomenon it must re-invent itself by becoming more modern.

It must understand that the world has moved on. Not so long ago, the people used to accept all that the Church said without raising an eyebrow. Today, thanks to better education and more open-mindedness, the people are questioning the Church’s values more and more. And many people think that the values that the Church holds so dearly are no longer valid today.

It is not being suggested that the Church should change these values. What it certainly should change is the way it transmits them. The Church should bring itself in line with modern means of communication – it is only by reaching out to people in the way they can be reached today that the Church could become more relevant.