Father Bilocca OFM CAP SBD taught sociology at INSERM, a kind of seminary for the religious orders and he was tied to the Archbishop’s Curia.
Our first meeting took place at the Capuchin Friary in Floriana on 15th July 1973.
‘In my public ministry the bishop is my boss, for the rest I obey the religious superior of the order.
When I took part in the quarrel the bishop wanted me to help him. It was against the will of my superior. So he took me out of the order.
I wrote in Lehen is-Sewwa from 1974 till 1971 under the noms de plume Baruk and Don Camillo. I also write in Il-Hajja. I have been teaching since 1947 and wrote a book on Catholic sociology.
During 1921-1933 the clergy had the Italian culture. It had always been biased against the English. Whenever something British was suggested to the government of Malta it was always interpreted as a danger of the faith. Freemasonry was strong. Mintoff gave them a hard blow when he was put to power. Many English freemasons he sent away.
During 1921-1933 the Boffa MLP got a Bolshevik label. There were always anti-church elements: Demech, freemasonry. Many Maltese turned against the church under provocation.
The church wanted safety for the Italian language and culture. During Stricklands time Mussolini started fascist propaganda at the Umberto College in Old Bakery Street. The Nationalist politicians always used religion for their political ends. It was a means to obtain power. The majority of the clergy has always been Nationalist. They were afraid of the English influence on religion. They used a man to take oath that he saw Lord Strickland in a freemason lodge. Then the church published a pastoral letter putting this in mortal sin to vote for Strickland. The British thought that religion was used for political purposes and suspended the constitution. Bishop Caruana was accused by the Nationalists because he was pro-British. Mgr. Gonzi was anti-Strickland and pro-Italian. In his heart of hearts he has always been a labourite. But there were extremists in the MLP who were harmful to the party. They were anti-church (Demech’s followers). So Gonzi had indirectly to support the Nationalists because of the extremists in the MLP.
In 1947 the Nationalists did not get many votes after the Italian bombs. Boffa got the majority. He was very moderate. They called him ‘the monsignor’.
The MLP always had an anticlerical section (Demechjani and later Stricklandians). Mintoff found his strength in this point when het split the party. In 1953 Boffa had 4 seats and went into coalition with the PN. Borg Olivier had succeeded Enrico Mizzi. He was deputy leader and just fell into the office after his predecessors death. When the budget gave a good rise to those already well-paid and only a few pence went to the workers, Boffa’s Workers Party had to retreat from the coalition. So Mintoff came into power (1955).
When in 1956 there was the referendum for Integration the Church went into politics. Mgr. Gonzi wanted guarantees for the religion. The referendum was lost. It was boycotted on religious grounds. During January-August 1956 I was intermediary between Mintoff and Gonzi (being a labourite and a priest). Mintoff was always friendly to the extremists. He repeated the Strickland affair for himself. He kept attacking the church. His excuse was that he was provoked by the church. In August I gave way to professor Aquilina (also a labourite). In 1958 Mintoff resigned suddenly.
In 1962 there was the penalty of mortal sin for whom voted for Mintoff. He publicly stated six points that would be dangerous for us. But he was very prudent and followed the Vatican Council . I was against the six points and put up a third party (the PNP; AK), because the PN was laissez-faire and the MLP was extremist. What I did was with the blessing of the ecclesiastical authorities. The church authorities believed in a third party in the balance, but many individuals only wanted the two major parties. I asked Pellegrini. He had not wanted to be the leader but we could not find somebody else. He wanted to save the MLP. Dr. Ganado was against the laissez-faire and the laziness of Borg Olivier.
In 1966 the cry was: Wash away the small parties, though both Pellegrini and Ganado were under the blessing of the church. But the ordinary people were brought up that the Nationalists were the protectors of the church. So the Nationalists won under the mortal sin. If Ganado was not such a sound Catholic he would have left the church.
In 1969 the Holy See, after the Vatican Council, started a new policy. It wanted a dialogue with socialism. In the meantime the extremists had died or disappeared from the political scene (Ellul Marcer). Once the six points of Mintoff were put down, either by the Council itself: the separation of church and state. There were for the bishops no more grounds to keep acting against the MLP. So mortal sin was kept out of the elections of 1971 and Mintoff won.
The MLP first did not trust Gerada. He could not succeed. I made a nice declaration for both sides. Then Gerada did not want a declaration. Pellegrini was also involved in making the peace.
The clergy remained Nationalist, but many of them were fed up with the PN. What they did not want from Mintoff the PN did as well: the casino, the change in the order of precedence, a dirty film in which they used a church of Our Lady in Gozo. Their motto Religio et Patra did not work. Borg Olivier never took the lead of Mgr. Gonzi, He always thought Mgr. Gonzi was behind Dr. Ganado to replace him. Duncan Sandys (Minister of Defence of the UK; AK) also wanted Borg Olivier replaced. The English never wanted Mintoff in power.
Nowadays Mintoff treats Gonzi better that some heads of state. He even appointed his medical doctor, Dr. Farrugia, ambassador to the Holy See.
Mintoff builds Malta stone by stone.
Sending away De La Salle brothers and nuns of the sacred Hearts (these religious orders were in charge of the training of teachers in Malta; AK). The curia knew beforehand and we don’t need as many teachers as before (the reader should keep in mind that Fr. Bilocca belonged to a religious order and it is a well known fact that there is always some kind of rivalry between there orders: AK).’
Our final meeting took place in St. Luke’s Hospital in 1987, a few weeks before the elections which would return the Nationalists into power, after sixteen years in opposition. I was visiting Anton Cassar, who informed me that Father Bilocca was in hospital too. He was very weak. His last words to me were that he was optimistic about Malta. He died soon afterwards.
NOTE: In 2004 Sergio Grech published Father Bilocca’s biography.
(originally posted on Facebook, 11th July, 2023)