MICHELE GONZI
He was born as Michele Gonzi in Birgu on 13 May 1885. He was the son of Giuseppe Gonzi (1840 – 1935) and Margherita Tonna. Gonzi was ordained to the priesthood in 1908. Elected as a Labour Senator in the Malta Legislative Assembly in 1921, he resigned half-way into his term to be enthroned as the 5th Bishop of Gozo in 1924. Gonzi held this office until 14 October 1943, when he became coadjutor bishop of Malta and Titular Bishop of Lyrbe.
Three months later, Sir Mauro Monsignor Caruana, Bishop of Malta, died, and, on 17 December, Gonzi succeeded him as Bishop. Gonzi became Archbishop of Malta in 1944 when Malta was elevated to an archdiocese. Gonzi was instrumental in helping families without decent dwellings to find good houses. He commissioned the construction of apartments for families and was also the motor behind the construction of many churches especially the one in Kalkara.
Gonzi resigned his post as Archbishop of Malta in 1976, when he was succeeded by Joseph Mercieca. Gonzi’s tenure as Archbishop of Malta was marred due to strained relations with the Labour Party, particularly with its leader Dom Mintoff. Trouble started in 1948 when Mintoff was still Deputy Leader of his Party. At a dinner in which Mintoff presided, guests sang The Red Flag and anti-clerical speeches were made.
Relations started deteriorating again during the Integration campaign of the mid-1950s. Gonzi feared that the privileged position of the Catholic Church would be lost to the Anglican Church once Malta became part of the United Kingdom and asked for guarantees which were never forthcoming. The church and its supporters were categorically against the plan for integration and asked voters to vote ‘no’ or abstain in the referendum of 14 February 1956.
The Church, and in particular Gonzi’s, relationship with the Labour Party, worsened further in 1958 when nationwide protests and street unrest developed when it was announced that the dockyard would be gradually shutting down and the number of workers drastically reduced. Gonzi condemned the violent protests and accused the Labour Party of supporting them. The Labour Party in turn accused the church for condemning the protesting workers while never condemning the harsh repressions by the British colonial authorities.
The antagonistic talk was further exacerbated with Labour’s decision to develop relationships with Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization (AAPSO), believed to be a socialist front organisation. On St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1961, Gonzi ‘interdicted’ supporters of the Labour Party, specifically, the Party’s Executive Committee, readers, distributors and advertisers in the Party papers and voters and candidates of the Party. The key issue became whether the state should be secularised in line with modern parameters, or whether the Church should retain its privileged position.
During ‘interdiction’, the political climate in Malta was very tense with the church organising rallies for preparation of the spirit in view of the forthcoming elections. The Labour Party rallies were also often disrupted by continuous churchbell ringing and whistling and other deliberate noise by Catholic laymen. Sermons during Mass were predominantly characterised by political issues and so were pastoral letters read in church. Gonzi died on 22 January 1984, aged 98.
