The book 'Church-State Relations in late-eighteenth-century Malta: Gio. Nicolo Muscat (1735-1803)' by Prof. Frans Ciappara, published Malta University Press, will be launched at Castille on Friday, 14 September at 18:00.
The panel will consist of Fr Rene Camilleri, Dr Alfred Sant, Prof. Joe Pirotta, Prof. Henry Frendo (chairman) and the author.
'This visionary, passionate in his hatreds, who with his savage comments and rigid character rarely blended prudence with courage, and whose mind was so sorely swept by the winds of controversy, would be proved right in embracing the cause of the separation between Church and State and distinguishing canon from civil law. His ideas gained ascendancy after his death; they were destined to survive him and become visions in the soul of future generations... The idea of an omnipotent Church had been challenged, and, once challenged it could never recover the unconscious security of the past. The Church's stand was without promise.'
(From the author's conclusion)