Gozo Bishop Mario Grech defended media censorship on grounds that it followed the environmental "precautionary principle" introduced after the Rio de Janeiro earth summit in 1992.

Mgr Grech's voice joins the heated debate on censorship and freedom of speech after a spate of censorship incidents over the past 12 months.

The latest incident revolves the case of a 21-year-old history student who is expected to be charged in court because he published a graphic short story about sexual violence in the University newspaper he edits, Ir-Realtà.

"According to the European Commission, in the name of this principle, authority intervenes to remove whatever products are deemed to be harmful to life or the environment," the Bishop said.

"So, I ask, in the local educational context, why can't we apply this precautionary principle used for normal products to the media as well? If we're so concerned about ecology, why aren't we equally concerned about the media environment and the human ecology?

"Since it's been scientifically proven that the media can be harmful to the psychological and moral health of the individual, why isn't it acceptable that we embrace this 'European principle'," the Bishop asked.

The European Commission had adopted the principle in 2000 for environmental matters. However, it stated that "in practice, its scope is much wider, and specifically where preliminary objective scientific evaluation indicates that there are reasonable grounds for concern that the potentially dangerous effects on the environment, human, animal or plant health may be inconsistent with the high level of protection chosen for the Community".

The Bishop defended the idea of a censorship board saying that, in the light of this preventive measure, society wouldn't be living in the "dark ages" if it chose to have an authority with the power to "intervene and suppress what in the media world could hinder the educational process".

Bishop Grech was speaking at a Mass for journalists on the occasion of the feast of St Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.