Malta schools cash appeal

SPECIAL collections will take place in all Maltese churches this weekend to help keep open the 74 Catholic schools of the island, at least for the foreseable future.
The Church is rapidly running out of the funds it needs to finance the schools, including salaries for more than 1,000 staff, after agreeing with the Socialist government not to charge fees for one year.
Meanwhile, Maltese Church officials have been holding top level talks with the Vatican to discuss the deteriorating relations between the Church and the State.
Archbishop Joseph Mercieca of Malta, Bishop Nicholas Cauchi of Gozo and Mgr Francesco Canalini, charge ,d'affaires of the Vatican nunciature in Malta last month met Archbishop Achille Silvestrini, secretary of the Vatican Council for the Public Affairs of the Church. No details of the meeting were released.
Last year, the Maltese government narrowly passed a law forbidding Catholic schools from charging fees or accepting donations from parents. The government also imposed licensing conditions which Archbishop Mercieca said interfered with the autonomy of Church schools. After a wave of violence against Church officials last autumn, the Archbishop refused to reopen the schools. The schools were later reopened after a temporary deal was struck between the two sides. This included an undertaking by the Church to provide free schooling for one acedemic year, despite the fact that audited accounts showed it did not have the necessary funds.
Meanwhile talks have been taking place over the Church's opposition to a governmentproposed common entrance exam which would. allow students from both Church and 'State schools to obtain places at eight Catholic secondary schools, widely regarded as maintaining higher than average academic standards. Sources in Malta said a diocesan fund established in December to fund the schools has not reached its target. Of the approximately £1 million needed to run the schools until April, only about £700,000 has ' so far been collected. Another £1 million will then be needed to keep the schools going until September.