Archbishop Siclona highlighted the highlights of the apostolic journey, saying that the Holy Father would surely surprise everyone with his spontaneous expression as he prepared to leave for his visit to Malta.
C. Rubini CTC, Vatican News
Catholics in Malta are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the pope on April 2-3. Prior to the apostolic visit, Archbishop Charles Ciclona of Malta shared with the Vatican his hopes for the Pope’s visit.
“The Holy Father always amazes us with his spontaneous style. As we can tell after the trip, it was not at the event, but that’s what touched me,” he said.
Reconciliation during the Ukraine War
The archbishop said the pope’s visit to Malta was in the midst of a crisis caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, and hoped the pope would send a message of peace and reconciliation to the world. Mass will be held in the city of Floriana on Sunday. In the Gospel of that day, the woman who was captured as a sinner describes the event of finding God’s mercy in Jesus. He said it was a symbol of our need for reconciliation with God in this crisis.
“The Pope is going to preach from Malta to the Maltese and to the whole world in a situation where they need to listen to the gospel of reconciliation around the world, Jesus Christ, who gives the possibility of a new beginning without judgment.”
The voice of the prophet
Following allegations of sexual harassment by a group of church clergymen
Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who visited Malta in 2010. Prior to the Pope’s visit, the Church of Malta issued an official apology and Pope Benedict XVI met with eight of them. Archbishop Sicluna said the church in Malt was carefully implementing Pope Francis’ sermons and new guidelines on sexual abuse cases. This week Pope Francis met with representatives of the indigenous community from Canada, where he spoke to victims of exploitation at a residential school in Canada and expressed his concern for survivors of exploitation.
He added that “local churches can not do this alone without listening to the voice of the pope’s leadership and without following and implementing the guidelines that are now very clearly laid out.” “There is no other way to fix this,” he added.
Lots of surprises
Asked what would be the main part of the Pope’s visit to Malta, he underlined that the Holy Eucharist is the most important moment of every apostolic journey. Yet Pope Francis is known for expressing things more forcefully than words written by his natural gestures. Papa is always full of surprises so “Monday, I wonder what he can say when all this is over, let’s pray that all goes well.” Archbishop Cyclona said.