The Papal visit was of great satisfaction both for the Pope and the Maltese church, Archbishop Paul Cremona said this afternoon. He told a news conference that the real protagonists were the thousands of people who turned up for the events and lined the roads.
They showed that the church and what it believed in was at the heart of the Maltese, the Archbishop said.
Archbishop Cremona said that in his messages, the Pope spoke about Christian values, the dignity of every person, stability of marriages and the love of life from conception. These were guidelines for the Church in its message to the people.
Gozo bishop Mario Grech said he believed people came to see the Pope because God spoke to them.
The fact that there was a good attendance and the visit was successful was manifestation that God was alive.
Answering questions, Mgr Cremona said the Pope said did not have a good night’s sleep between Saturday and Sunday but then he rested in the afternoon and was given energy by the thousands of youths who packed the Valletta waterfront.
Asked to comment about a speech by Paul Caruana Turner, who was representing the marginalised, the archbishop said the Church loved everybody but it also had a message.
The church was offering a way of life and being a Catholic meant joining in this way of life.
Otherwise, the church loved everybody.
Mgr Cremona was asked about the difference in his own meeting with those alleging abuse by members of the clergy and the victims’ meeting with the Pope, for which he was also present.
The Archbishop said both were very sorrowful meetings. The Pope listened and it was a moving moment. The Pope also met the victims individually.
Mgr Cremona said his own meeting with the victims was two hours long and he had started a personal relationship with them.
He said that while in the Pope Mobil, the Pope told him how impressed he was with the number of people who lined the streets.
Asked what the Pope said when he saw the Luqa monument, Mgr Cremona said that when passing from next to the monument he looked at the Pope directly and His Holiness was looking the other way.
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