Archbishop Charles Scicluna took a dig at the authorities in his Christmas message for refusing a safe port of entry to migrants in distress.

"How can we tell them that we are full up and that we have no place for them? Is it really possible that we have no place, or is there no place in our hearts in reality," he asked.

He said it would be wonderful if Malta lived up to the vocation that its name implies, "that of being a safe haven for those who live here and for those who knock on the doors of her heart".

"During this beautiful season of festivities, joy and care, can we possibly forget someone among us," he asked.

Earlier in the day, the armed forces dodged questions about 25 migrants who are currently stranded at sea in Malta's search and rescue zone.

The migrants spent Thursday night waiting for help that never arrived.

And, also on Thursday, another 214 migrants were offered a port of safety in Sicily after they were denied entry to Malta. They disembarked the Sea Eye in Pozzallo on Friday.

The Church in Malta had appealed to the government not to leave these migrants, and another 70 reported stranded by Alarm Phone on Wednesday, at sea, and had even offered them shelter in its homes.

In his message, the Archbishop also greeted other people who were forgotten at this time of the year - the prisoners, those in hospitals or other institutions, the elderly in homes and victims of addiction.

He called for kindness among one another saying "we sometimes add so much bitterness and poison in our words and on social media".

While wishing everyone a blessed Christmas, he thanked all those who tried in every way to promote Malta's welcoming culture, "a culture of kindness".

"By the grace of God, this Christmas, may we open our hearts to welcome one another, and may our kind Christmas greeting to each other also be our commitment to use kind and gracious words with one another," he said.

Scicluna also spoke on the environment saying "we need to take care of the environment that is so essential".