This Malta Community Chest Fund has become somewhat of a Cash for Citizens Scheme to compete with the Cash for Passports Scheme, when we go to Midnight Mass at St. John's co-Cathedral and get turned away just as Mary and Joseph did at the Inn on that Christmas night.

Any funds that can come the way of beneficiaries of the MCCF are indeed valued, needed and for good cause.  It is just when they get above the Lord Himself that the whole project becomes distorted and downright wrong.  The grand efforts made by groups of people taking on tough endeavours, individuals digging deep into their pockets and organizations that took the initiative to share their wealth and power to enable contributions for this good cause are not to be discouraged or criticised.  Not even the President I should say.  The fact is however, that this collection becomes an obsession of epic proportions when even the Midnight Mass at St. John's co-Cathedral is instrumentalised to raise funds and exclude the very worshippers that come to celebrate the birth of Christ on that Silent Night.

We have already made a spectacle of ourselves at the European Parliament with the Citizenship for Cash (Talent) Scheme and outraged the good men and women of Europe with our grand ideas that extend beyond this 'limited' European Union.  Now, after advertising Malta as the place for Festas - one of the topics highlighted by the MTA to promote Malta - Christians who chose to come to here to find a place of worship without fear of being blown up by a bomb or burnt by fire, find there is no place at the Inn.  The door is closed, they are refused entry because they do not have a ticket for the President's breakfast at the Palace.  More outrage again.

The priest tries to help by explaining that this is a charitable event and nobody is convinced.  Rather, the church-goers are well disappointed that a member of the clergy should be complicit with this business. 

Because that is what it has become at this point - a business.  And on its way it is taking over like a hungry parasite  plant devouring all it can find.  It has well and truly taken possession of San Anton and it's residents - whether that is a good thing or not I will leave to every individual to determine.  But when we also have the very house of God becoming a market place under the excuse of charity  -  'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention;  otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.  So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogoues and in the streets to win human admiration.' 

Matt. 6:1,2.  and  'But you say, "If anyone says to his father or mother:  Anything I might have used to help you is dedicated to God, he is rid of his duty to father or mother." In this way you have made God's word ineffective by means of your traditions.  Hypocrites! ' Matt. 15: 5,6 - then we have well and truly become victims of 'nothing but human commandments'.

The Foundation of St. John's co-Cathedral may say that they are not controlled by the Church and manage their own affairs;  the President's office can say that they stated that it was an optional booking;  the priest can say that only a few were left out and that was due to capacity and not whether or not they had a ticket.  The fact is that if the President wanted to organize this mass with breakfast then she should have done it at the Palace as usual and not taken over the Cathedral from the public and the faithful and made it into an affair of state.  Did the MCCF pay to rent the venue?  When David Cameron used Chequers for a birthday bash for his wife, the public rightly said that he should have paid to rent the place because it was being used for a private event, although he paid for the party.  What will the St. John's Foundation do if I go and tell them that I want to organize a fund raising concert for id-Dar tal Providenza?  Will they give me permission to do so? 

Maybe after what was recently said about the church no longer being central to Maltese culture, was some back-tracking done to build a bridge between state and church?   So much attention on one-upping the Church.  Like a neighbour who can find no peace from constantly watching what is being done next door.  The Church does nothing to take away from the role of the President.  Why does the opposite seem to have become a project to win at any cost?  At this rate we may be able to dispense with the Archbishop altogether.

At any rate, it may be time to enquire if the running of the MCCF may have become too much of a full time job for the President and it should be transferred again to a purpose built organization.   Maybe a Charity Bank like the Monte dei Paschi in Italy - hopefully not to become a means for corruption as that did.  However, the funds are never enough and a bank that can invest money and dispense it in a way that is fair and transparent may be the best road to go down now.  Cheap loans for worthwhile causes, such as repairs of church homes or community projects, could also be affected. Another factor to consider is whether any of the cases which receive contributions from the MCCF may be entitled to money from the Government already.  And if not, can the Government begin to look into the cases and set up a committee to study the needs of the people and whether some of these benefits can or should be provided by the state? Sometimes it is housing, sometimes it is poverty or victims of usuary and so on, where Ministerial offices or other NGO's  may be able to help. In short, how bad is the need and is it at an alarming level?

The time to consider all roles separately and for what they are - Church, State, Office of the President, Government has come, before we become engulfed in a frenzy of collections for the sake of appeasing our conscience or investing in our own future needs.   

What happened at St. John's on Christmas Eve gave the wrong testimony and should never be repeated.  The public went there to hear mass and they should have been able to do just that.   Let us also keep in mind that charity is not only money and so much charity is needed in just giving some time in helping those who need it.  Ask the Little Sisters of the Poor in Hamrun if they need help and you won't even have knocked on the door before you are pulled in and given a day's tasks. 

It is up to the Church too, to get its priorities straight.  It really cannot afford to be selective at a time, especially, when Pope Francis is seeking so much inclusivity and bringing the Church closer to the people.