The Maltese Church once defied secularisation. Now its bishops have surrendered
The crisis in the Church has drawn William Oddie out of retirement. He has written an excellent appraisal of the crisis in the Church presided over by Pope Francis and makes this very pertinent observation among many: "The issue was secularisation. The Maltese Church was tooth and nail opposed to it. Now, its two bishops have not only surrendered to it, but have declared themselves its willing collaborators. Divorced-and-remarried Catholics who are living as if they were married – who in other words are engaging in what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “public and permanent adultery” (CCC 2384) – “cannot”, the Maltese bishops declare, “be precluded from participating in … the Eucharist”. This simply contradicts the unbroken and unanimous teaching barring such Catholics from reception of Holy Communion. The bishops have in effect declared that the Church has all along been wrong and the secular culture right." Read the whole thing here . One of the most obvi...