Archbishop Charles Scicluna on Saturday called for Malta as a nation the Maltese as citizens of a sovereign state to embrace stewardship as a way of governance and life. 

He also called for guardians of the State to be accountable.

In his homily on the occasion of Malta’s 55th anniversary as an independent nation, Archbishop Scicluna said stewards of the state were entrusted with the wellbeing of a household that was not their property to abuse at will.

They were called to serve and not to be served, to dedicate their life for the good of others and would shun any temptation to abuse their authority for personal gain, profit or advantage.

Another important aspect of the steward’s calling was accountability. 

“Accountability requires leadership to be open to public scrutiny and censure.

“Accountability is the antidote to that sense of impunity that makes a mockery of leadership as service and of democracy as an expression of the rule of law. The steward leader, in a democracy worthy of the name, knows too well that he is accountable to the people he serves both politically and legally. He will embrace politics as a service to the common good and will respect the fact that he is not above the law.”

Independence Day, Archbishop Scicluna said, challenged Maltese citizens to develop a true sense of the state. It challenges everyone to grow out of an atavistic sense of entitlement at the hand of a benevolent despot and move forward into the very uncomfortable place of participating in the destiny of society as co-stewards.

Quoting John F. Kennedy, he said this place was uncomfortable because being true and loyal citizens of an independent country meant asking oneself first and foremost what was needed to 
be done for the country rather than what the country needed to do for us.

“We need to move from the passive quasi-parasitic dependence on the State as the Big Brother of Orwellian fame to a proactive co-ownership of the instruments of the State as the stewardship of the wellbeing of each member of society, especially those that are the weakest and most vulnerable.”

The archbishop said Independence Day came every year to hold the people as a sovereign nation to account as to how they were fulfilling their calling to stewardship on the international level. The globalisation of challenges on the economic and environmental level called for a globalisation of stewardship that ran counter to the petty narrow-minded populist rhetoric that put the interest of the individual states above the wellbeing of the human family. 

In 1967, newly independent Malta was instrumental in promoting the Law of the Sea Convention in the interests of the planet and of future generations.

“This globalisation of care should encourage us to play an active part on the international stage to promote a true sense of fraternity among nations.

“We are right in expecting that other European Countries share the responsibility derived from the influx of migrants from the southern Mediterranean shores that poses a disproportionate strain on our resources and territory, limited as they are.

“On the other hand, we owe it to the family of nations, not least to the other members of the European Union, to the Commonwealth family of Nations, and to the international community, that our instruments of state and sovereign status remain at the service of the rule of law, the full respect of human rights and the stewardship of the global community.”

The Archbishop's homily, in Maltese and English, can be read in the pdf links below.

Wreath-laying ceremony

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Independence Mass was followed with a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the Independence Monument in Floriana.

Photo: Jonathan Borg