Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519882
10 OPINION maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 MAY 2024 PAOLA parish priest Fr Marc Andre Camilleri does have a problem and it is one of his own making. Cracks in the roof of the basilica he is responsible for and other structural problems do not happen overnight. They take time to develop and he had 10 years to make sure these things do not happen. So, the question begs: Where has the priest been all these years? Structural problems usually re- sult from mismanagement, which in turn as I believe has happened in this case, is the result of lack of experience. It could also pos- sibly be the result of funding the wrong priorities such as the em- bellishment of the internal parts of the basilica rather than invest- ment in routine maintenance of the external areas as should have been the case. Fr Camilleri could not have had any illusions as to the size of the Church he was given to adminis- ter by Archishop Pawlu Cremo- na back in 2014. It couldn't have escaped him that it required continuous and routine mainte- nance. Apparently, his priorities were misplaced and the results are now there for all to see. Blame must also be shared by those who appointed him parish priest to one of the largest, if not the largest church in Malta. Fr Marc Andre Camilleri was ordained priest in 2010 and was appointed parish priest of Pao- la's Christ the King parish four years later. It was too tender an age for anyone to be burdened with such a big responsibility. Since the appointment of a parish priest is the prerogative of the archbishop, then the Curia must accept this responsibility and dig into its pockets to solve the problem. However, the Curia and Arch- bishop Charles Scicluna appear more interested in giving their blessing to the rooftop cafe- teria project than lift a finger to help solve the problem. All Mgr Charles Scicluna can come up with is a lame press release claiming that the original draw- ings of the intended commercial establishments on the roof of the basilica have been amended. In trying to solve the finan- cial malaise, Fr Camilleri's only solution is to commercialise the premises or else close the doors to all the faithful frequenting this magnificent place of worship. Come on Father, is it possible you cannot do better. Well, I remember when the present Basilica was still being built. I was there since my ten- der age of 10 when as a member of the Catholic Action Group I used to attend catechism lessons in one of the rooms below one of the belfries. I saw the Basilica going up stone by stone, each stone craft- ed and polished manually and subsequently hauled up to the upper part of the structure using pulleys and ropes. At that time, the population of Paola was much less than what it is today. Today, it stands at some 12,000 persons. The income of parishioners was also miserably lower than what it is today. There were obviously costs in- volved running into thousands of Maltese Liri needed to buy stone, pay the craftsmen and la- bourers, cement, steel and sun- dries. But never had it ever crossed the parish priest's mind at the time to commercialise the prem- ises in any way, or to go to the media with some fantasy story. At the time, the Paola parish church was administered by two very competent and affectionate priests, whom every parishioner loved. These were Fr Angelo Xuereb and Fr D. Agius, who were both raised to monsignor level in rec- ognition of their sterling work in the completion and running of the Paola parish church. What bugs me in all this sa- ga is the fact that Fr Marc An- dre Camilleri has not come up with any professional studies, as should have been the case, to justify the realisation of his pro- ject. One might ask, where is the data for revenues and expendi- tures over the years. Where has all the money been coming from and where has it gone and what can be done to improve on the figures presented. And what about a professional study with financialpProjections showing what revenues are ex- pected to follow the implemen- tation of the intended commer- cial establishment on the basilica roof. Apparently, there are none, at least not that I have heard of. As per Camilleri's own state- ment, these commercial prem- ises will be operated by third parties and not by the parish ad- ministration. This means that all the profits (assuming there will be profits) will be pocketed by the Operators whilst the basili- ca administration will be getting the leftovers in the form of rent- als or leases. The question is what would be the contribution of these rentals or leases to the present and fu- ture requirements for the run- ning of the basilica. Are these expected revenues to be suffi- ciently robust to justify commer- cialising a sacred building? How somebody can try to jus- tify these intended monstrosi- ties to the parishioners, media and all without presenting such information is something that beckons serious thinking with regards to the proposer, What is also to be considered as disturbing is the fact, that the motive behind the need to estab- lish these commercial establish- ments on top of the basilica is the need to raise funds and not because of some noble intention. The basilica will not in any way Fr Marc Andre Camilleri has a problem… very much of his own making Frank Camilleri is a company director and holds an MBA from Queen's University Belfast Frank Camilleri Fr Marc Andre Camilleri