Faith in pluralistic Malta : the relevance of the Maltese Catholic Church in the context of current changes in contemporary Maltese families

Abstract

Twenty years ago, Abela (1991) pointed out that whereas Europeans see the spiritual as standing at the centre of their religiosity and locate the Church's relevance to problems of family life on the periphery, the Maltese ranked the Church's contribution to family life as being equally central. Abela explained that this was due to the importance of family life for Maltese society and "the family oriented pastoral activity of the local church" (p.77). Over the years the Catholic Church's influence in the area of family life in Malta has plummeted. The pro-divorce majority vote in the recent divorce referendum on our islands is further evidence of the waning influence of the Catholic Church in Malta. The results continued to highlight the secularisation process our society is going through. (Discern 2006). Media and advertising have become much more influential and rampant consumerism has become the order of the day. The need for more money is becoming an essential requisite in the lives of Maltese families. Sexual imagery and messages projected by the media constantly bombard consumers. Love is increasingly and unrealistically romanticised while sacrifice and difficult moments are hardly ever mentioned. As a result, there is little time for prayer and reflection in a fast paced world where many of the younger parents work and raise a family. Lives have become a blur of work with an ever increasing yearning for expensive leisure and entertainment. In this context it is not surprising that many Maltese are finding it difficult to relate to teachings based on an era of more than 2000 years ago and seem to have stopped searching for meaning in religion.