Cardinal Mario Grech, a former Bishop of Gozo, is a controversial Maltese bishop who has rapidly risen up the hierarchy to head the Vatican secretariat responsible for running Vatican synods.

Born on February 20, 1957, in Qala, Malta, Grech completed his primary and secondary education at Victoria Lyceum in Gozo before studying philosophy and theology at the Gozo diocesan seminary.

After his ordination as a priest on May 26, 1984, Grech pursued higher education in Rome, obtaining a licentiate in Utroque Iure (civil and canon law) from the Pontifical Lateran University and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Upon returning to Malta, he served in various pastoral roles and held several diocesan positions, including Judicial Vicar and teacher of canon law.

On November 26, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Grech as Bishop of Gozo, a position he held until 2019 when Pope Francis hand-picked Grech to be Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, a position he took up in September 2020. Francis elevated the Maltese prelate to the rank of cardinal on November 28, 2020.

As Secretary General of the Synod, Grech has become a central figure in the ongoing Synod on Synodality, championing the concept of a “synodal Church” and playing a crucial role in shaping the future direction of the Church under Pope Francis. He has been praised by supporters for leading the charge in implementing what they view as a more consultative and inclusive approach to Church governance. Critics have said he is the footsoldier of a process which undermines episcopal authority and the hierarchical order of the Church. As Secretary General he has got to know, and become known by, a significant portion of the cardinal electors and has become, more than anyone else, the emblem of the synodal path.

In March, he announced an “Accompaniment Process of the Implementation Phase of the Synod on Synodality” that will culminate in October 2028, not in a synod of bishops but in an “ecclesial assembly” where the “People of God,” made up of roughly equal numbers of bishops, clergy, religious and laypeople, will propose perspectives “for the entire Church.”

The innovation was a notable departure from the previous assemblies of the Synod on Synodality where the majority of the votes were cast by bishops. Cardinal Gerhard Müller and others criticized the introduction of such an assembly, arguing that it was giving the laity the same authority as bishops and potentially changing the sacramental order of the Church. Cardinal Grech has to date not responded to these concerns.

During much of his time as Bishop of Gozo, Grech was known for his conservative stance on certain issues, such as opposing the legalization of divorce in Malta in 2011, and stressing that those who do not follow Catholic teaching should not receive Communion.

A significant shift in Grech’s approach occurred following Pope Francis’ election in 2013 and the election of a leftist government in Malta. He began to embrace a more progressive approach, as particularly evidenced in his statements during the 2014 Synod on the Family. Grech claimed at that time that the catechism’s language on homosexuality was hurtful to homosexuals, and some years later, Grech defended Pope Francis’ endorsement of same-sex civil unions, describing the controversy around it as “a storm in a teacup.”

These comments contrasted with 2008 comments he had made during Benedict XVI’s pontificate when he had stated that those such as LGBT individuals who don’t accept Church teachings should excommunicate themselves. However, his position against abortion has reportedly not changed. His supporters on the progressive wing of the Church say his shifting opinions on these issues shows his capacity for growth and change.

Although he has not taken a public stance on celebrations in the Vetus Ordo, the Maltese community associated with the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite claims that the then-Bishop of Gozo did not actively support the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in the diocese. According to reports, “several requests for Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite since 2007 were met with silence or refusals” in Gozo.

In 2017, Grech became embroiled in a controversy over guidelines by Malta’s bishops on Chapter 8 of Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The Maltese cardinal was regarded as the principal author of the contentious guidelines, otherwise known as “Maltese directive,” which critics said went further than the exhortation on allowing civilly remarried divorcees to Holy Communion and contradicted previous papal teaching on the matter.¹The guidelines were criticized for asserting the primacy of conscience over the objective moral truth, stating that remarried divorcees could receive Holy Communion after a period of discernment, with an informed and enlightened conscience, and if they are “at peace with God.” Grech responded by saying the guidelines were not opposed to the Magisterium, and urged reading them “as they are” rather than what had been written about them in the media.

He was nevertheless accused of using heavy-handed tactics in implementing the guidelines. He refuted the accusation but Grech had been accused of such actions before, most notably in a 2014 letter that a group of Maltese priests sent to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, then head of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community.

During his time in Malta, one of the countries most affected by the flow of migrants, he used very strong language towards Europe, particularly criticizing political leaders who sought to hinder the activities of NGO ships. On this issue, Grech also harshly criticized a segment of Maltese society, accusing it of “racism,” and condemning Europe’s actions as “criminal.”

More recently, he has continued to be at the center of some controversies, particularly regarding statements he has made on sensitive topics. In 2022, he denounced 85 bishops who had criticized the divisive German Synodal Way, calling their criticism “unhelpful” and “polarizing” while expressing confidence that the German synodal leaders “know what they are doing.”

In the same year, he said of synodality that it is characteristic of “a listening Church” and that “we are not taking positions on anything,” leading to criticism that he was advocating a Church that listens but does not teach.

In a 2024 interview, he raised further concerns by expressing support for a female diaconate and advocated for greater flexibility in pastoral approaches across different regions.

However, unlike his predecessor at the synod secretariat, the cardinal has been open and willing to field questions critical of the Synod on Synodality, such as the concern that it might be being used as a vehicle to undermine Catholic teaching and be a form of “Protestantization” of the Church.²Cardinal Grech said: “When properly understood and engaged, the synodal process is meant to heal doctrinal confusion and anarchy, by recognizing the specific grace given to each believer and placing this grace in dialogue with the bishops […] Listening to the People of God, therefore, does not mean adjusting to heterodox opinions, but recognizing the voice of the Holy Spirit within the whole of the baptized. In this way, synodality is not the Protestantization of the Catholic Church.”

Overall, despite the controversies and past criticisms of his governance, he remains a trusted and loyal confidant of Pope Francis with whom he shares a very similar vision for the future of the Church.

Cardinal Grech speaks Maltese, English and Italian.