It says a lot about the low level of journalism in Malta that many of them seem unable to get their facts right even in simple, uncontroversial matters.

I read some, not all, news reports about the death of Dun Ang Seychell and those that I read missed out on the fact that Dun Ang was a journalist for the better part of his working life.

When I joined Il-Hajja in 1972 Dun Ang was already the Deputy Editor of the paper.

The paper then had just passed through a major crisis when the editor Henry Frendo had been forced out.

Although he may have had his own critical opinion on Frendo's editorship and views, I do not recall Dun Ang playing a major role in this palace revolution.

Henry was forced out, I remember, by a powerful coalition of parish priests who blamed the defeat of the Borg Olivier government in 1971 on Henry and his revaluation of Manwel Dimech.

By the time I joined the paper had a new editor, Charles Buttigieg, who, like Dun Ang, hailed from Zejtun.

There have been many appreciations on the social media by left-wing intellectuals who identified Dun Ang as one of them.

That he was with his daily reading of La Croix and the adhesion to the left-wing post-conciliar church, liberation theology, etc. Those were the times of fighting against the new regime of Pinochet's Chile, and following the battles in Nicaragua, Guatemala, etc.

In Malta, Dun Ang was decidedly left-wing but not of the party, Dom Mintoff core. In fact, there were many critical articles on Il-Hajja, some penned by him.

Internally, after the forcing out of Henry Frendo, we lived in a state of suspended animation until one fine day Archbishop Gonzi removed the mainly lay Board of Directors and replaced it with far more right wingers like Monsignor Coleiro and Jojo Mifsud Bonnici.

That was what caused us, the three priests employed by the paper, Dun Ang, Fr Hilary and myself to hold a press conference at a neutral space, the Excelsior, to tell people of this development. That was the only time auxiliary bishop Galea spoke to me, I remember.

A short time later, a disappointed Dun Ang left the paper and that's when he came up with the idea of turning his private home into a home for people with disabilities. And from one house they became four, now a foundation, still going on.

When we moved to Zejtun we found that Dun Ang had become a much-loved icon in the town.

There may have been a time when he was out of sync with the mainline parochial spirit, especially when the Pope 'downgraded' St Catherine and as a reaction there followed the time of boasting about 'the Cathedral of the East'.

But as shown at the funeral, the people of Zejtun are now unanimous in his praise.

He may not have been a festa aficionado, but in his whole life he had been trying to do good for his town.

There still exists a house sporting the Young Christian Workers logo, reminding people of the time in the 1960s when the YCW founder (later Cardinal) Cardijn visited Zejtun and was received enthusiastically.

The YCW later died down and Dun Ang and his followers joined the Fraternity of (St) Charles de Foucault holding retreats for lay people.

When we moved to Zejtun I found a very old Dun Ang who said Mass sitting down, but still insisted in going round giving Communion to people who many times were less feeble than him.

But that's Dun Ang for you - an uncompromising fighter on behalf of the small man, the worker, the disabled.

 

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