An anticlerical and gay activist on the Tridentine Mass

 

The Maltese-Australian lawyer Joseph Carmel Chetcuti needs no introduction to the Maltese public. He himself admitted in a comment 10 months ago as follows: 

"I have been described as anticlerical and I have embraced that description with pride. Clericalism is not grounded in the New Testament. It is merely a fabrication of some men designed to benefit these very men. In recent years clericalism has benefited a closeted homosexual and pedophile hierarchy. They even proclaim their own 'saints'. And as a gay activist I am proud to have played a very minor role towards the devastation of clericalism. With the advent of modern gay liberation, the seminaries and friaries have virtually been obliterated. And I was one of those who left the friary for gay liberation. What the Catholic Church needs now is a reformation from within. But of course they will blame modernism and secularism and atheists and agnostics and what have you. A nice way to deflect attention from the miserable way these clerics have run the church."

In his book, Queer Mediterranean Memories,  Chetcuti speculates on the sexual orientation of various prominent people including Saint Paul and Saint George Preca among others.

It came therefore as a welcome surprise when, in a recent exchange of views with Pro Tridentina (Malta) he said the following (my emphasis) about the Tridentine Mass:

" Oh pleeease! Whom are you kidding? Try pulling the other leg. BTW, I was there and present at a mass when Marcel Lefebvre visited Australia many moons ago.

...

Well it is many years ago. I think it was in the 1980s as I moved to Melbourne in late 1982. There is no denying, however, that the Tridentine mass has a sense of magic (or better still, a sense of wonder) which is lacking today. He reminded me a bit of Gonzi!"

 

Profile of the Founder

The Founder is all about spirituality. Those on the IX Life path are destined to travel a humanitarian path. 

They are always sophisticated individuals, are very selfless souls and are often patient, trustworthy and honourable from the very beginning to the end of their life.

These individuals make great environmentalists, teachers, artists, priests and healers. Sometimes a IX's lofty ideals are presented in a manner that others find absurd. Part of a IX's life path is to express spiritual principles through actions, rather than through preaching or proselytizing.

As Saint George Preca once said: 

"Eh, eh ... all the Founders have suffered!"

Saint George Preca

I am putting this brief account of Saint George Preca, Malta's first canonised saint, on the occasion of his feast day (9 May). It fills me with pride and at the same time with humbleness to know that this saint is a distant relative from my mother's side. Godwin







SAINT GEORGE PRECA
Diocesan Priest



Founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine, M.U.S.E.U.M.

(Valletta, Malta, 12 February 1880 - Sta. Venera, Malta, 26 July 1962)

SAINT GEORGE PRECA was born in Valletta, Malta on 12 February 1880 of Vincenzo and Natalina Ceravolo. He was baptised in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Valletta, on 17 February. In 1888 the Preca family moved to Ħamrun, a fast growing town not far from Valletta. George received his Confirmation and his first Holy Communion in the parish church of St Cajetan. One day when he was 17 years old George was walking along the Maglio Gardens (Il-Mall) in Floriana. He met one of his Lyceum Professors, Fr Ercole Mompalao, who told him: “Preca, when you grow up, people who revere God will befriend you and you them. You will find your good fortune through them and they through you”. After his studies at the Lyceum, George entered the Seminary of Malta with the aim of becoming a priest.

His confessor, Fr Aloysius Galea, died on 8 April 1905. Blessed George used to recount how Fr Galea appeared to him a few days later and told him: “God has chosen you to teach his people”. George Preca was enthused with this idea. He wrote a rule in Latin which he wanted to send to Pope Pius X for approval. He envisaged groups of seven permanent deacons in every parish who, with the help of lay auxiliaries, would be responsible for the formation of the people of God. It was around this time (1905-1906) that George met a group of young people at Ħamrun and invited them to start attending his spiritual conferences. He set his eye on their leader, Eugenio Borg, and started explaining the Gospel of John to him. (Later on Eugenio Borg became the first Superior General of the Societas Doctrinae Christianae and was renowned for his holiness when he died in 1967).

A few months before his ordination to the priesthood George Preca almost died of a very serious sickness. Through the intercession of St Joseph he survived the ordeal, but as a consequence of the illness his left lung was permanently impaired. He was ordained priest on 22 December 1906 by Bishop Pietro Pace, and he celebrated his first Solemn Mass at the St Cajetan Parish Church in Ħamrun on Christmas Day. For a number of weeks after ordination George would not venture out of home except to say Mass, after which he would retire to a small room on the roof and remain there all day bereft in meditation and contemplation. Towards the end of January 1907 he called the same group of young people and invited them for a spiritual conference on 2 February at the Ta’ Nuzzo Church at Ħamrun. The little group subsequently rented a small place at n. 6, Fra Diegu Street, Ħamrun and met there for the first time on 7 March 1907. These two dates mark the beginning of the Society of Christian Doctrine: a group of lay people leading an exemplary life, well formed in the principles of the Catholic faith and sent to teach the faith to the people. At first, Fr George called his society Societas Papidum et Papidissarum (Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pope). In the meanwhile, however, the rundown place where the first members met was jokingly referred to as the “museum”. The nickname soon became the name of the group itself and it stuck. The founder had no alternative but to devise an acrostic in Latin: M.U.S.E.U.M., Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus! which in translation means: "Teacher, O that the whole world would follow the Gospel!" The female branch of the Society was inaugurated in 1910 with the help of Giannina Cutajar who later became the first Superior General of the same branch.

It was around 1910 that Dun George had a very powerful mystical experience which he always referred to as “the extraordinary vision of the child Jesus”. One morning, he was passing in the vicinity of the Marsa Cross when he suddenly saw a twelve-year old boy pushing a low cart with a bag full of manure. The boy turned to George and ordered him imperiously: “Lend me a hand!” The moment Fr George put his hand on the cart he felt an extraordinary spiritual sweetness and he never could remember where they went or what happened to the young boy. He later understood however that the boy was Jesus and that the Lord was asking him and his followers to help him with nurturing the Lord’s field and vineyard with sound doctrine and formation.

The M.U.S.E.U.M. developed along the years into the society we know today: a group of lay people who dedicate themselves to the apostolate of catechesis, lead a simple evangelical lifestyle, commit themselves to a life of prayer using short prayers or meditations at regular intervals during the day (“The Museum Watch”), teach the young catechesis for an hour everyday, which is then followed by a group meeting for personal permanent formation (“The Assignment”).


The Society had its difficult moments. In 1909 Dun George was ordered to close his Museum centres. Broken-hearted but without hesitation, he started following superior orders until the parish priests themselves protested with the ecclesiastical authorities and the ban was revoked by Vicar General Salvatore Grech. Between 1914-1915 a number of daily newspapers carried articles and letters denigrating the new Society. Dun George ordered his members to take a vow or promise of meekness, gladly forgiving anybody who poked fun at them and taught them “to love the contempt” they suffered and not to let it trouble them unduly. In 1916 Bishop Mauro Caruana ordered an enquiry concerning the Society. After many humiliations for the founder and his close followers, the Curia issued a favourable report. Although some changes were required, the way was open for definitive ecclesiastical approval. Bishop Caruana canonically erected the Society of Christian Doctrine on 12 April 1932.


Dun George Preca strived unceasingly to spread the values and teaching of the Gospel in the Maltese islands. He wrote a great number of books on dogma, morals and spirituality in Maltese. He also published numerous booklets with prayers for the private use of his members and for popular devotion. He was undoubtedly a great apostle of the Word of God, especially of the Gospel which he used to call “The Voice of the Beloved”. He would encourage his followers and the public in general to memorize sentences and phrases from the Gospel and his charismatic preaching constantly referred to parables and stories from Scripture and the life of the saints. He zealously defended the honour due only to God and persuasively illustrated how ugly sin was. He never shied away from openly preaching about death, judgement, hell and heaven. Utterly convinced of God’s justice, he nevertheless movingly proclaimed the Lord’s infinite mercy.

People flocked to him for advice or a word of encouragement. They trusted in his intercession and many still recount stories of healings wrought by God through Fr George’s prayers. He was endowed with many supernatural gifts, among which were the knowledge of hearts and of the future. He was nonetheless a priest of great humility, goodness, meekness and generosity. He was truly a holy pastor of the people of God.


Dun Ġorġ, as the Maltese know him, is well known for his constant efforts to promote devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation. From 1917 he propagated devotion for the text from the Gospel of John: “Verbum Dei caro factum est!” (Jn 1, 14). He wanted the SDC members to wear a badge with these words. On Christmas Eve 1921 the Society organized the first “Demonstration in honour of the Baby Jesus” in the towns and villages of Malta and Gozo and this event has since become a typical aspect of Christmas celebrations on the islands. Fr George wanted every child who attended catechism classes to take a small crib or statue of the baby Jesus home for Christmas.


The holy priest learnt to trust in the maternal protection of Our Lady, especially during the difficult moments of the Society. He was enrolled as a Carmelite tertiary on 21 July 1918 and at his profession in September 1919 he chose the name of Fr Franco. Children attending the Society’s centres are still enrolled in Our Lady’s scapular. Dun Ġorġ also nurtured a filial devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel; he promoted use of the Miraculous Medal and in fact wanted the Church of the Society’s Motherhouse to be dedicated to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. In 1957 he suggested the use of five “Mysteries of Light” for the private recitation of the Rosary.


On 19 May 1951 he blessed the foundation stone of the St Michael School at Santa Venera, and in 1952 he sent the first members to start the Society in Australia. The SDC is today also found in England, Albania, the Sudan, Kenya and Peru.

On 2 October 1952 Pope Pius XII nominated Dun Ġorġ as Privy Chamberlain with the title of Monsignor. Dun George was mortified. He kept the title for six years until Pope Pacelli passed away in 1958.

In 1955 Dun George blessed the foundation stone of the Sacred Family Institute at Żabbar which later housed SDC members living in common who had been staying at Żebbuġ ever since their establishment in 1918.

After a long and very active life in the service of the Gospel and of the Christian formation of the people of God, Dun Ġorġ Preca died on Thursday evening 26 July 1962 at his house: “San Cajetan”, Parish Street, Santa Venera, Malta. He was deeply missed by all the Maltese population. He had wished for a very simple funeral but thousands, including the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities, turned up to pay him homage. He was buried in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal at Blata l-Bajda which soon became a venue for constant pilgrimages.

Fr George Preca was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Malta on 9 May 2001 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 June 2007. His liturgical feast is celebrated on 9 May.

Viaggio Apostolico a Malta

Benedetto XVI nella Grotta di San Paolo, Rabat, Malta

BENEDETTO XVI

UDIENZA GENERALE

Piazza San Pietro

Mercoledì, 21 aprile 2010

Cari fratelli e sorelle!

Come sapete, sabato e domenica scorsi ho compiuto un viaggio apostolico a Malta, sul quale oggi vorrei brevemente soffermarmi. Occasione della mia visita pastorale è stato il 1950° anniversario del naufragio dell’apostolo Paolo sulle coste dell’arcipelago maltese e della sua permanenza in quelle isole per circa tre mesi. E’ un avvenimento collocabile attorno all’anno 60 e raccontato con abbondanza di particolari nel libro degli Atti degli Apostoli (capp. 27-28). Come accadde a san Paolo, anch’io ho sperimentato la calorosa accoglienza dei Maltesi – davvero straordinaria - e per questo esprimo nuovamente la mia più viva e cordiale riconoscenza al Presidente della Repubblica, al Governo e alle altre Autorità dello Stato, e ringrazio fraternamente i Vescovi del Paese, con tutti coloro che hanno collaborato a preparare questo festoso incontro tra il Successore di Pietro e la popolazione maltese. La storia di questo popolo da quasi duemila anni è inseparabile dalla fede cattolica, che caratterizza la sua cultura e le sue tradizioni: si dice che a Malta vi siano ben 365 chiese, “una per ogni giorno dell’anno”, un segno visibile di questa profonda fede!

Tutto ebbe inizio con quel naufragio: dopo essere andata alla deriva per 14 giorni, spinta dai venti, la nave che trasportava a Roma l’apostolo Paolo e molte altre persone si incagliò in una secca dell’Isola di Malta. Per questo, dopo l’incontro molto cordiale con il Presidente della Repubblica, nella capitale La Valletta - che ha avuto la bella cornice del gioioso saluto di tanti ragazzi e ragazze - mi sono recato subito in pellegrinaggio alla cosiddetta “Grotta di San Paolo”, presso Rabat, per un momento intenso di preghiera. Lì ho potuto salutare anche un folto gruppo di missionari maltesi. Pensare a quel piccolo arcipelago al centro del Mediterraneo, e a come vi giunse il seme del Vangelo, suscita un senso di grande stupore per i misteriosi disegni della Provvidenza divina: viene spontaneo ringraziare il Signore e anche san Paolo, che, in mezzo a quella violenta tempesta, mantenne la fiducia e la speranza e le trasmise anche ai compagni di viaggio. Da quel naufragio, o, meglio, dalla successiva permanenza di Paolo a Malta, nacque una comunità cristiana fervente e solida, che dopo duemila anni è ancora fedele al Vangelo e si sforza di coniugarlo con le complesse questioni dell’epoca contemporanea. Questo naturalmente non è sempre facile, né scontato, ma la gente maltese sa trovare nella visione cristiana della vita le risposte alle nuove sfide. Ne è un segno, ad esempio, il fatto di aver mantenuto saldo il profondo rispetto per la vita non ancora nata e per la sacralità del matrimonio, scegliendo di non introdurre l’aborto e il divorzio nell’ordinamento giuridico del Paese.

Pertanto, il mio viaggio aveva lo scopo di confermare nella fede la Chiesa che è in Malta, una realtà molto vivace, ben compaginata e presente sul territorio di Malta e Gozo. Tutta questa comunità si era data appuntamento a Floriana, nel Piazzale dei Granai, davanti alla Chiesa di San Publio, dove ho celebrato la Santa Messa partecipata con grande fervore. E’ stato per me motivo di gioia, ed anche di consolazione sentire il particolare calore di quel popolo che dà il senso di una grande famiglia, accomunata dalla fede e dalla visione cristiana della vita. Dopo la Celebrazione, ho voluto incontrare alcune persone vittime di abusi da parte di esponenti del Clero. Ho condiviso con loro la sofferenza e, con commozione, ho pregato con loro, assicurando l’azione della Chiesa.

Se Malta dà il senso di una grande famiglia, non bisogna pensare che, a causa della sua conformazione geografica, sia una società “isolata” dal mondo. Non è così, e lo si vede, ad esempio, dai contatti che Malta intrattiene con vari Paesi e dal fatto che in molte Nazioni si trovano sacerdoti maltesi. Infatti, le famiglie e le parrocchie di Malta hanno saputo educare tanti giovani al senso di Dio e della Chiesa, così che molti di loro hanno risposto generosamente alla chiamata di Gesù e sono diventati presbiteri. Tra questi, numerosi hanno abbracciato l’impegno missionario ad gentes, in terre lontane, ereditando lo spirito apostolico che spingeva san Paolo a portare il Vangelo là dove ancora non era arrivato. E’ questo un aspetto che volentieri ho ribadito, che cioè “la fede si rafforza quando viene offerta agli altri” (Enc. Redemptoris missio, 2). Sul ceppo di questa fede, Malta si è sviluppata ed ora si apre a varie realtà economiche, sociali e culturali, alle quali offre un apporto prezioso.

E’ chiaro che Malta ha dovuto spesso difendersi nel corso dei secoli – e lo si vede dalle sue fortificazioni. La posizione strategica del piccolo arcipelago attirava ovviamente l’attenzione delle diverse potenze politiche e militari. E tuttavia, la vocazione più profonda di Malta è quella cristiana, vale a dire la vocazione universale della pace! La celebre croce di Malta, che tutti associano a quella Nazione, ha sventolato tante volte in mezzo a conflitti e contese; ma, grazie a Dio, non ha mai perso il suo significato autentico e perenne: è il segno dell’amore e della riconciliazione, e questa è la vera vocazione dei popoli che accolgono e abbracciano il messaggio cristiano!

Crocevia naturale, Malta è al centro di rotte di migrazione: uomini e donne, come un tempo san Paolo, approdano sulle coste maltesi, talvolta spinti da condizioni di vita assai ardue, da violenze e persecuzioni, e ciò comporta, naturalmente, problemi complessi sul piano umanitario, politico e giuridico, problemi che hanno soluzioni non facili, ma da ricercare con perseveranza e tenacia, concertando gli interventi a livello internazionale. Così è bene che si faccia in tutte le Nazioni che hanno i valori cristiani nelle radici delle loro Carte Costituzionali e delle loro culture.

La sfida di coniugare nella complessità dell’oggi la perenne validità del Vangelo è affascinante per tutti, ma specialmente per i giovani. Le nuove generazioni infatti la avvertono in modo più forte, e per questo ho voluto che anche a Malta, malgrado la brevità della mia visita, non mancasse l’incontro con i giovani. E’ stato un momento di profondo e intenso dialogo, reso ancora più bello dall’ambiente in cui si è svolto – il porto di Valletta – e dall’entusiasmo dei giovani. A loro non potevo non ricordare l’esperienza giovanile di san Paolo: un’esperienza straordinaria, unica, eppure capace di parlare alle nuove generazioni di ogni epoca, per quella radicale trasformazione seguita all’incontro con Cristo Risorto. Ho guardato dunque ai giovani di Malta come a dei potenziali eredi dell’avventura spirituale di san Paolo, chiamati come lui a scoprire la bellezza dell’amore di Dio donatoci in Gesù Cristo; ad abbracciare il mistero della sua Croce; ad essere vincitori proprio nelle prove e nelle tribolazioni, a non avere paura delle “tempeste” della vita, e nemmeno dei naufragi, perché il disegno d’amore di Dio è più grande anche delle tempeste e dei naufragi.

Cari amici, questo, in sintesi, è stato il messaggio che ho portato a Malta. Ma, come accennavo, è stato tanto ciò che io stesso ho ricevuto da quella Chiesa, da quel popolo benedetto da Dio, che ha saputo collaborare validamente con la sua grazia. Per intercessione dell’apostolo Paolo, di san Giorgio Preca, sacerdote, primo santo maltese, e della Vergine Maria, che i fedeli di Malta e Gozo venerano con tanta devozione, possa sempre progredire nella pace e nella prosperità.

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana