Archbishop, Gouder tried to silence priest over festa reform

An Mgarr priest has taken umbrage at comments by Pro Vicar General Anton Gouder that he faced a ‘confrontational’ opposition on the reform in religious celebrations, claiming Gouder tried to muzzle him.

Fr David Muscat said he was exhorted by Archbishop Paul Cremona personally not to appear on Xarabank in November 2009, when Gouder threatened to withdraw his participation if Muscat accepted the producers’ invitation to be on the panel of speakers.

Muscat is a critic of the Curia document that wants festa processions to end by not later than 10:30pm and also restrict the times of the pealing of bells after 11pm and in the afternoon, amongst other measures.

“My exposition of events concerning my appearance on Xarabank clearly demonstrate the underhanded style in which Mgr Gouder plots,” Muscat said in a harsh reaction to Gouder’s recent interview on Radju Malta during the programme Ghandi Xi Nghid.

His comments were copied in an email he sent to PBS producers and Mgr Anton Gouder. Gouder has declined to comment on the priest’s claims.

According to Muscat, whose views had been restricted to a taped interview on Xarabank, Gouder felt the show was intended to be a “circus-spectacle of priests quarrelling on television” and that the Archbishop went to the extent of contacting Muscat’s confessor, then in Rome, to persuade him not to appear on the show.

“Only the intervention of Rev. Prof. Peter Serracino-Inglott… persuaded the Archbishop it was pastorally wise that TV viewers see other priests airing different views and that I had a valid contribution to make to the debate,” Muscat said.

“Nonetheless Mgr Gouder still adamantly refused to appear on the show if I were to appear on Xarabank’s panel. Thus my contribution could only be made by means of a heavily-edited interview while Mgr Gouder could hold forth at length and for much of the programme.”

Gouder also alleged during the Xarabank edition that the late parish priest of Zurrieq had died of cardiac arrest directly because of stress caused to him by festa lovers.

“Even if this is true it is a very serious pastoral blunder, let alone irresponsibility, if a high-ranking cleric utters such an accusation in public,” Muscat said.

In October 2009, the Church published a range of proposals on the celebration of village feasts with the aim of “restoring the religious and community aspects” of the celebrations.

Among other things, the Church proposed giving village festa enthusiasts three years to control outrageous behaviour during morning band marches, after which offending band clubs would be struck off the Church’s list of events.

“Between 2010 and 2012 we will allow time for all those involved to control exaggeration, including the manner of dress, songs and words that are chanted, the consumption of alcohol and the duration of the marches,” the document read.

“If, after these three years, we find that band marches cannot be controlled or reformed, the Church has to decide to no longer consider them an integral part of the feast.”