[WATCH] Paola parish priest: ‘At the end of the day we must pay the bills’

“When I receive an electricity bill or a bill from the painter, I must pay it with money… I cannot pay them back with a blessing.”

This is the earthly reaction of Fr Marc Andre Camilleri to accusations that a proposed cafeteria on the roof of his church will result in the commercialisation of sacred property.

The parish priest of the Christ the King parish in Paola faced public uproar after MaltaToday revealed plans for a restaurant and an outside seating and bar area on the roof between the two belfry towers.

Subsequently, new plans identifying the establishment as a cafeteria not a restaurant were submitted. The new plans retain the outside tables but exclude any cooking on site.

I meet Fr Camilleri on the parvis, and he walks me through the church property where he intends creating a “vertical museum” inside the belfry towers topped by a cafeteria.

He confirms that the proposed cafeteria on the roof of the church will be run by a private operator but at this stage, the aim of the planning application is to see what the authorities are willing to permit.

Asked whether the church will be issuing a public call or whether it already has a business operator in mind, Camilleri hints that it is still early for any commitment of this sort.

“We have first to see what the authorities think of this project and any arrangements will follow from there… The museum itself will belong to the church… As regards the cafeteria there will be someone responsible for it as this is not something we can do ourselves,” he says.

I ask him about the Prime Minister’s criticism that the proposed catering establishment is ‘a non-starter’ but the parish priest curtly replies, “everyone has a right to an opinion”.

Camilleri insists the proposed chairs and tables will not have any negative aesthetic impact because they are not permanent structures and will not even be visible from street level. However, the parish priest makes it clear that the whole aim of the application is to get a clear idea of what can be permitted or not on this site.

“We will be abiding with what authorities like the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage will tell us,” he reassures parishioners.

Asked whether he anticipated the negative public reaction, Camilleri blames this on people “just reading the headlines” and adds that the plans are “much bigger than the cafeteria which is just a small part of the project.”

Indeed, the plans are intended to make full use of six rooms atop each other in each belfry.

“What we are proposing is a museum and an interpretation centre… The cafeteria will take up one room of 12 existing ones… Our priority is to make full use of this enormous and abandoned space,” he tells me as we make our way up the belfry.

He also makes it clear that any revenue will go to cover the maintenance and restoration costs of the church and the employment of staff required to keep the church open for longer hours.

“Surely this will not be enough to cover the enormous expenses involved [in running a church] but it will help,” he says as he points to the costs attached to the restoration of the church’s dome. Scaffolding costs alone cost over €100,000, while waterproofing will cost €153,000, Camilleri notes.

“The cafeteria is the least important aspect of this project,” he reiterates but it will help to recoup some of the costs to maintain the church property.