https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15375 Thu, 07 May 2026 15:25:52 GMT 2026-05-07T15:25:52Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145779 Title: The Lima document : four decades on : a re-reception of baptism, eucharist and ministry and the liturgical implications Authors: Buttigieg, Dorianne Abstract: The final seal of unity between the different churches and traditions is the full participation around the table of the Lord. In the end, for all the very successful bilateral dialogues, the main contentious aspect is this: full unity around the table. To this end, this paper explores an important document, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, also called the Lima document. It was hailed as a very important document which underscored a number of understandings of the centripetal roles of baptism, eucharist and ministry. Looking back at the document and the liturgical ramifications, the supreme example being the Lima liturgy, can be of great help in establishing a trajectory towards an authentic worship between the different Christians of good faith. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145779 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145439 Title: The effect of the Catholic school ethos on students : a case study Abstract: This research examines how a Catholic secondary school communicates and sustains its ethos through the lived experiences of its students. Focusing on St Michael School, administered by the Society of Christian Doctrine, the study examines how its Catholic identity—shaped by the SDC virtues, particularly humility and meekness—is lived and transmitted to students within the school community. A mixed-methods case study design was employed to provide both quantitative breadth and qualitative depth. Data were collected through a comprehensive student questionnaire administered to the entire school population, a semi-structured interview with a member of the school leadership team, and a post-survey student focus group. Statistical analysis of survey data complemented a thematic analysis of interview and focus group responses, identifying key patterns and recurring themes. Findings indicate that St Michael School’s Catholic ethos is communicated through both explicit and implicit dimensions—ritual practice, curriculum, relationships, and leadership witness. Students reported a clear awareness of the school’s Catholic identity, valuing opportunities for religious participation and identifying core Gospel values such as humility, respect, and care as central to their experience. The results also highlight that ethos is most effectively transmitted through teachers’ relational presence, personal example, and pastoral attentiveness. Leadership accessibility and continuous staff formation emerged as essential in ensuring coherence and authenticity between belief and practice. The study concludes that St Michael School exemplifies the Church’s vision of integral human formation, where faith, reason, and culture are harmoniously united. It recommends that sustained investment in educator formation, relational leadership, and ongoing reflection on the SDC charism remain central to nurturing a living and credible Catholic identity in a changing educational context. Description: M.A.(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145439 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144647 Title: Implementing chapter 8 of Amoris laetitia throughout the world : a critical reading of episcopal pastoral guidelines Authors: Knieps-Port le Roi, Thomas; Schembri, Kevin Abstract: The authors critically analyze the numerous pastoral guidelines issued by several bishops’ conferences and individual bishops as a response to the publication of Pope Francis’s exhortation AL in 2016. While all bishops value AL as a significant and perceptive contribution to their local communities, they differ in the interpretation of the exhortation. The article focuses on their main areas of disagreement: first, from a methodological point of view, the role and function of pastoral care in church teachings for which AL has required a fundamental reorientation, where some bishops insist on placing doctrine systematically and structurally above the pastoral approach; second, from a moral theological perspective, the way in which some bishops override the weight of mitigating factors in the course of pastoral discernment by subordinating the conscience of the individual to the objectivity of moral law, contrary to the call of AL; third, with regard to sexual morality, the emphasis which certain bishops put on complete sexual abstinence, in contrast to the statement of AL that irregular situations can be accompanied in other ways. The article concludes by addressing the question of whether the bishops’ guidelines will lead to a positive reception in the local communities and to what extent the pastoral directives will help the church promote a better understanding of the faith. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144647 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137655 Title: "The wheat beneath the chaff" : discriminating religiousness by means of the post-critical belief scale Authors: Galea, Paul Abstract: This study forms part of an investigation into the religious beliefs and attitudes among students at the University of Malta, the majority Roman Catholic, initiated by the University Chaplaincy. It consists of a survey meant to assess their adherence to basic tenets of Christian faith and morals. In the course of this on-line survey, the shorter version (18 items) of the Post-Critical Belief Scale (Duriez et al, 2005) was also administered to the 421 participants, males and females, mean age 21 (SD=4). Of these, only 380 cases which had all the item answered were accepted. This instrument, based on Wulff’s theory (1991, 1997), suggests a variety of approaches to religion that can be located in a two-dimensional space along the bipolar dimensions, Exclusion vs. Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs. Symbolic. It envisages four groups, Restorative Interpretation, Literal Affirmation, External Critique, and Relativism. In the analysis of the results of the survey, an exploratory factor analysis suggested the presence of two different groups which however needed to be identified. After considering several variables from the survey section, Church Attendance proved to be the strongest one that differentiated between the two. This led to the creation of two groups, those who attend Church more or less regularly, and those who rarely do so, or never at all. The former group was seen to correlate strongly with the items related to basic tenets of faith as compiled by the survey. The second part of the study consisted in the analysis of the PCBS scores. Following a procedure previously conducted by Fontaine (2003) of multi-dimensional scaling and principal component analysis, two factors were extracted which rotated towards the target as proposed by Wulff. The rotated two dimensional solutions had substantial congruence with the bipolar model, and with Tucker's Phi in excess of 0.85. The18 items also separated neatly into their respective quadrants, just like that of Fontaine (2003, 511). Using the two subgroups for further contrasts, t-tests revealed that those who went to church regularly scored significantly higher on the Restorative Interpretation (t = 5.29), whereas the others scored significantly higher on External Critique (t = -9.39) and on Relativism (t = -4.18). No significant difference was noted on Literal Affirmation. While the survey was able to identify a particular group showing a stronger consistency between belief and practice, the PCBS contrasts were able to posit this group in the Restorative Interpretation quadrant. This represents a position in which the existence of the religious realm is inclusive of transcendence while retaining the symbolic meaning of the religious language. The results have shown that the PCBS could be validly replicated with a different population and that it also enjoys a degree of discriminant validity. The conclusions, moreover, shed some more light on the character of the subjects falling under the Restorative Interpretation quadrant which, according to Wulff (1991, 1997), has largely been neglected in empirical research. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137655 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z