Catholic Archdiocese of Malta Says Unable to Predict Land Grab Allegation | National Catholic Register
Malta is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea with a population of about 500,000 people, about 94% of whom are baptized Catholics.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Malta said on Monday that it could not foresee an alleged “seizure of land” on the island of Gozo.
The archdiocese defended its decisions on land on the second largest island in Malta. statement on December 13, the day the residents threatened to evict them, they protested outside the Archbishop’s Curia in the city of Floriana.
The statement lamented what it called “the spread of misinformation” about the archdiocese’s relationship with a medieval foundation responsible for the land.
The Archdiocese, led since 2014 by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, said it wanted to “make it clear that it could not foresee, let alone exercise control over, a decision in 2019 by the Land Registration Agency to allow the registration of plots of land in Gozo. which has caused residents uncertainty about the legal title of their homes. “
Protesters argued that the archbishop had a moral duty to intervene in the transfer of “large tracts of land to private companies that are now profiting millions from development on this land,” he reported. Gozo News.
Malta is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea with an estimated population of about 500,000 people. 94% of whom are baptized Catholics.
The complicated dispute can be traced back to 1675, when a noble woman named Cosmana Navarra created the San Antonio Delli Navarra Abbey Foundation to manage her lands.
She decided that the foundation would be overseen by an administrator chosen by her heirs and approved by the bishop, profitably supporting Catholic lawsuits. She died in 1687 without leaving children and after the foundation was run by the clergy.
In 1989, a man named Richard Stagno Navarra declared himself a legitimate heir with the right to be named land administrator. When the Church authorities rejected his request in 1992, he took legal action.
“The Gozo courts have approved his application to be considered the legitimate administrator within 24 hours of his case being filed,” said the archdiocese.
The Curia refused to grant and legal proceedings lasted for more than twenty years.
The Archdiocese said that the courts had determined that the Archbishop of Malta’s power over the foundation was limited to the appointment of an administrator.
“At no point did they question the status of Richard Stagno Navarra as a legitimate heir,” she said.
The archdiocese explained that in 2017, Scicluna followed advice to end the costly legal battle and sign an agreement accepting court decisions recognizing heirs.
The heirs then nominated two candidates to serve as administrators: a cleric and a lawyer, Patrick Valentino.
“The Archbishop, who did not have the authority to present the names for his own nominations, gave his consent to the appointment of Dr. Valentino as he did not want a cleric involved in the administration of the property of organization of the laity, ”said the archdiocese. .
She added that the Church received a lump sum of 200,000 euros (about $ 225,000), using the interest to fulfill obligations including the celebration of Mass.
The Graffiti Movement, a Maltese left-wing organization that supports the protesters, challenged the archdiocese’s account of events.
In a statement about her Facebook page on 15 December, she said that the Archbishop’s decision had “opened the door to threats of eviction against Gozitan residents, land speculation and the taking of valuable agricultural and undeveloped land to replace it with grotesque development projects, which spoil the landscape and quality of Gozo. of the lives of residents in the process. “
Commenting on the decision of the Malta Land Registration Agency in 2019 to register the land, the archdiocese emphasized that “unexpected development took place two years after a legal solution.”
She concluded: “The archdiocese is making a heartfelt appeal for just solutions.”