Mario Grech

Mario Grech was born in Qala, Gozo, on 20 February 1957.[1] His family moved to Ta' Kerċem when he was a young boy. He attended the Victoria high school and then studied philosophy and theology at the Gozo diocesan seminary. He was ordained a priest on 26 May 1984. He then obtained a licenciate in civil and canon at the Pontifical Lateran University and a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

He then fulfilled pastoral assignments at the Cathedral of Gozo, in the National Shrine of Ta' Pinu, and the parish of Kerċem. His responsibilities for the Diocese of Gozo included service as Judicial Vicar of the diocese, a member of the Metropolitan Court of Malta, teacher of canon law at the seminary, and a member of the College of Consultors, of the Presbyteral Council and of other diocesan commissions.[1]

On 26 November 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of Gozo.[1] He received his episcopal consecration on 22 January 2006 from his predecessor in Gozo, Bishop Nikol Joseph Cauchi. In 2011, he joined other Maltese bishops in advising Catholics to defeat a referendum that would allow the legislature to consider legalizing divorce.[2]

As president of the Episcopal Conference of Malta, he participated in the Synod of Bishops on the Family in 2014 and 2015.[3] Speaking to the Synod in October 2014, Grech said that "the doctrine of the faith is capable of progressively acquiring a greater depth" and that addressing people in complex familial relations, or homosexuals or parents of homosexuals, "It is necessary to learn to speak that language which is known to contemporary human beings and who acknowledge it as a way of conveying the truth and the charity of the Gospel."[4] With Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, Grech co-authored the Maltese bishops’ pastoral guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, released in January 2017, which stated that in certain cases a divorced Catholic who remarried might receive communion after "honest discernment".[5] The guidelines were republished in L'Osservatore Romano.[6][lower-alpha 1]

In a December 2018 interview, he said he enjoyed discussions with atheists that sharpened his own beliefs and preferred dialogue to the confrontation his critics preferred. When asked about family and sexual issues he said:[7][8]

If someone comes to me, asking me for help to discover Jesus Christ... he or she could be homosexual, and even in a homosexual relationship. It doesn’t matter. I will not impede that person; on the contrary I would help. The last thing I would do is take up a position against that person.... Before, we would say: ‘put your life in order first, and then we’ll begin the journey towards God’. Today, on the other hand, we would say: ‘Let us approach Jesus Christ... and Christ will help us put our lives in order.’ ... ‘Black’ and ‘white’ still exist; but the grey area in-between has grown. It is in the grey areas that we must search. That’s why I said that I am wary of those priests, or Christians, who feel they already know all the answers. No one can make that claim. We all have to continue searching.

On 2 October 2019, Pope Francis named him Pro-Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops.[9] He will work alongside the Secretary, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, and participate as a member in the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, and succeed Baldisseri when he retires. Grech remains the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gozo.[5] He is one of five Synod officials who serve ex offico on the fifteen-person commission that is responsible for drafting the Synod's final document.[10]

In his first interview after his appointment he stated that "there is a movement toward which the Church can acquire a greater feminine face that would also reflect Mary’s face".[11]

• Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Mario Grech ^{[self-published]}