The Society of Christian Doctrine, 1907-1981 : aspects of a history

Abstract

This otherwise insular socio-religious environment was not impermeable to secular and ideological movements pervading the rest of Europe, aspiring to unlid the huge potential latent in the yet dormant laity. Indeed, Dun Gorg Preca and the SDC were the Catholic expression and response to these new consciousnesses, which infused the working classes of the Dockyard, where a large proportion of the SDC Members worked. It will be shown how this socio-religious environment shaped the SDC and the objectives it created for itself. The SDC structure, evolving from after 1907, came to reflect and execute to a high degree of success the multiple SDC objectives, as well as reflecting the traditional parochial landscape in which the SDC fitted in. Yet, the challenges and problems, which this structure came to face as a result of its expansion, particularly overseas, necessitated some adaptations and changes to the SDC organisational structure, which were only partially accomplished by 1981. This work is based on well-documented research in the SDC Archives in Blata l-Bajda, as well as on numerous publications of this organisation. Moreover, several SDC members provided vital information necessary for the compilation of the statistical tables that form the backbone of this dissertation.