Feast of Christ the King celebrated in Marsa

Hundreds of people yesterday braved the chilly weather to celebrate the feast of Christ the King in Marsa.

Ominous black clouds threatened torrential rain but the weather held. Two groups of refugees - from Congo and Eritrea - took part in the celebration, singing hymns and reciting a prayer in their mother tongue.

Despite the celebratory air outside the Holy Trinity Church, the words of Archbishop Joseph Mercieca sounded a stark warning: he described the times as seeing a "religious haemorrhage".

Christ did not occupy the place he deserved in the life of a number of Maltese, if He was not already absent altogether, he said.

"Suffice it to say that we are living in a secular society which often bombards us with messages that contradict the Christian message."

Such a situation weakened the enthusiasm and interest in Christian belief, while causing confusion to the Christian life.

"Perhaps, wrong and false teachings - like the ones that say that all religions are the same and that everyone has the right to live according to what they believe in and what they feel is best - are quietly filtering in, without us realising."

The Archbishop said many called for the right of freedom of the individual and for freedom of conscience, which was anchored in the principle that nobody should impose one's faith and its moral consequences on others.

This led to some justifying all forms of moral disorder and breaches of justice because they believed people should build their moral codes around how they wished to live.

Faith in Christ, in the Church and in Christian morals had been under attack in recent years. Christ surely appreciates the fact that we call him King, but he also expects us to face challenges against Christian faith, the Archbishop said.

"Christ is always with us, with his humanity and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. We need to get together with Christ so that together we will overcome all challenges.".

Modern relativism, which was most damaging to the Catholic faith, was reaching these shores.

Yesterday was a day of great happiness, Mgr Mercieca said, adding that one should thank God that the Maltese still cherished the feast of Christ the King. One should pray that this feeling was passed on to future generations.

In the past, the feast of Christ the King used to be held in Floriana but in recent years this started being held in a different locality every year. Last year it was held in Zejtun.

Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi also took part in the celebrations of the feast. Speaking at the Sports Complex in Victoria, he lamented that the culture of death seemed to be gaining ground, rather than the culture of love.

"Even in our country we hear and read people who defend abortion and euthanasia even though both breach the fifth commandment, Thou shalt not kill."

He said nobody should have blind faith in science and technology because these do not always respect moral values and the dignity of the human person.