Feeling ‘Dismayed And Deserted’, Mqabba Band Club Calls For Internal Curia Inquiry Ahead Of ‘Disrespectful’ Parish Celebrations
The small rural village of Mqabba is known for taking its festa celebrations up a notch every single year, but with the parish church’s 425th anniversary coming up, one of its two band clubs has elected to not participate… and it’s saying it’s all down to a series of unfortunate events “poised to perpetuate division”.
“This decision comes after several months of effort to engage in meaningful dialogue through no fewer than twelve unreciprocated correspondences directed towards the parish Priest, the Archbishop’s Curia, and even the Archbishop himself,” The Our Lady of the Lily Musical Society announced on Saturday.
“This significant anniversary, which rightfully belongs to the entire parish of l-Imqabba, has been confined to only a portion of our community,” the band club lamented. “We had hoped that this occasion would serve to strengthen the bonds between all sections within our village. Regrettably, it now seems poised to perpetuate division, as a significant portion of our community members finds themselves unjustly excluded from this celebration.”
Representing approximately half of Mqabba’s community, the band club – known to locals as Tal-Ġilju – said the historic anniversary was being tainted by “a sad affair unravelling in the village”.
But last weekend’s announcement was not the only decision that the band club took, with its administrative committee also calling for “an internal investigation at the heart of the parish in question and Curia itself that will outline who and what was responsible for such a lack of understanding and communication among all parties involved.”
“This undemocratic state-of-affairs may yet prove to be another reason for the dwindling numbers in support of the Church in Malta, as many of the parish members took to their social media pages and expressed their utter disappointment and disapproval of the situation,” the band club continued, highlighting the dozens of comments which it received following its decision.”This was a unique opportunity to celebrate a rich-history of communal faith, but instead may yet be marred with dissent, discontent and discrimination.”
“It’s a shame that in 2023, there are still people who don’t want to learn and whose only objective is to create more division within the community,” one such comment said, blasting the “shameful” series of events which led to the decision.
What do you make of this? Sound off in the comments below and tag an Mqabba resident who needs to check this out.
Cover photo by CNG
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