Bishop urges MPs to be honest, green and protect human life

Malta’s new parliament was urged on Saturday to build its work on honesty, accountability, environmental responsibility and the protection of human life, as auxiliary bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi delivered the homily at the Mass marking the inauguration of the 15th legislature.

Galea-Curmi said the country’s challenges could not be solved through technical or administrative ability alone, but required moral vision, courage of conscience and respect for the dignity of every person.

Public life, he said, could not flourish when deceit was tolerated or when personal interest was placed before the common good.

He said citizens expected their representatives to be transparent, sincere and responsible in the way they exercised authority, adding that integrity meant doing what was right even when it was unpopular.

The bishop was addressing new MPs at St John’s Co-Cathedral, in a homily titled “On solid foundations”.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, his wife Lydia and Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg. Photo: DOI/Daniel Scicluna

He called for a renewed commitment to justice, saying this went beyond enforcing laws and should ensure that every person received what was due to them because of their dignity.

A just society, he said, protected workers, supported families, embraced those who suffered and ensured that economic progress benefited the whole community.

Galea-Curmi also appealed for unity, saying the national interest should be placed above partisan rivalry. He urged people in public life to avoid verbal violence and to show respect for one another.

Environmental protection

Turning to the environment, he said the protection of creation in Malta was both a responsibility and a moral urgency.

Future generations, he said, had a right to inherit a land that was beautiful, healthy and capable of sustaining life.

Dignitaries including former president George Abela, Opposition Leader Alex Borg, acting chief justice Mark Chetcuti and outgoing Speaker Anġlu Farugia. Photo: DOI/Daniel Scicluna

He said environmental responsibility required long-term vision and warned against immediate profit that caused lasting harm, saying the country had to put an end to “destruction disguised as development”.

Protecting human life

The bishop also placed the protection of life and human dignity at the centre of his message to legislators.

Citing a recent address by Pope Leo XIV to the Spanish parliament, Galea-Curmi said the defence of human life was neither partisan nor confessional, but a question of civilisation.

Dignitaries at the Mass. Photo: Archdiocese of Malta

Quoting Pope Leo XIV, he said human life should be safeguarded “from conception to its natural end”, and argued that matters of life and death could not be made dependent on the popular consensus of a particular moment.

Human dignity, he said, did not depend on age, health, productivity or social usefulness.

A truly humane society, he said, was measured by the protection it offered to the weak, not by the comfort enjoyed by the strong.

Galea-Curmi said lawmakers carried a serious moral responsibility, because laws were not merely administrative tools but reflected what society considered valuable.

Laws, he said, shaped culture, educated consciences and influenced future generations.

The bishop prayed that the new parliament's members would be guided by wisdom and strong character, and that national life would be marked by integrity over corruption, truth over falsehood, respect over hatred and dialogue over division.