Letters to the editor – May 2, 2026

Historical savagery

Albert Said of Naxxar writes:

Evarist Bartolo (‘Now go, attack Amalek’, April 24) quotes a shocking passage from scripture to which I would like to add a note.

Nowadays, everybody would say that genocide is grossly evil. God most vehemently condemns it and more than compensates its victims even after death in his own powerful and loving way. This was so even in the time of Samuel, Moses and Joshua, for God does not change. Yet, those leaders believed, in conscience, that God was ordering the carnage so that his promises could be fulfilled.

'The Inspiration of St Matthew' by Caravaggio

Despite some disedifying texts that scripture sometimes shocks us with, the deeper and fuller picture it reveals is that of a holy and moral God; a God who is love itself and loves all his creatures.

Scripture is indeed the word of God but in the words of human beings. This does not mean we should attribute the edifying passages to God and the unpleasant ones to the human authors. God is the author of everything in scripture. But he inspires human authors to compose his writings.

These are real authors, responsible for what they write. Normally he does not dictate to them or in any way force them to write down his words. He lets them be who they are, with their knowledge, their mentalities, their culture and the civilisation, or lack of it, of the place and time they lived in. Yet, every word they write is inspired by his spirit and positively wanted by him.

Passages which we, by our modern Christian standards, would condemn are not rendered good or edifying because God himself is narrating them or permitted them in practice. 

In such texts, scripture is not telling us how things should be but what they actually were.

This leads us to appreciate the depths and darkness out of which Jesus drew us and is still offering to draw us to-day through his holy spirit.

In no way does the bible allow us to go back to the historical savagery it records. Unfortunately, that is what the US and Israel are doing.

Have we become a cheap nation?

Anthony Saliba of St Paul’s Bay writes:

I hate to see law reports stating that a Maltese national carrying a distinct name and surname, which are definitely not of Maltese origin, charged in the criminal courts with such blatant abuse of our laws. No request for bail is submitted, mainly because he/she is a homeless person.  

How come this person was trusted with a Maltese nationality? Have we become so cheap a nation that we are benevolent in granting citizenship to everyone?

A particular case takes us back to August 2024. The accused was charged with wilful damage to third-party property and aggravated theft. He was also charged with breaching a three-year probation order. A legal aid lawyer was appointed to defend him. Of course, the sitting magistrate remanded him in custody pending delivery of judgment.

Malta is becoming a haven for third- country nationals whose aim is to lean on government-assisted aid, including free healthcare and transport.

Another homeless man from Somalia appeared in court some months ago charged with possession of synthetic cannabis and recidivism. He was assisted by a legal aid lawyer.

This has to stop. The minister in charge and the principal immigration officer (the commissioner of police) must use their legal authority to avoid Malta from becoming a third-world country.