A formation proposal in 1980 by the Faculty of Theology in Malta to educate students from mission countries : a footnote to the contacts between the local Church and the Holy See

Abstract

The Faculty of Theology had been “unceremoniously ousted” from the University of Malta in 1978 on the basis of the Education Act (Act XXI) passed by the Maltese House of Representatives. This led to a ten-year period during which the Faculty functioned as an autonomous academic institution. The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education had granted it the authority to confer canonical degrees to those who followed its programmes in philosophy, theology and religious studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Those were indeed difficult and challenging times not only for the Faculty of Theology, but also for the Church in Malta. Yet, despite the difficult circumstances, the Faculty flourished, its student numbers increased exponentially, and it sought to propose new initiatives both to the local Church and to the universal Church. [excerpt]