It has now become customary that, with the advent of the feast of Our Lady of the Nativity at Senglea on September 8, trees are horribly mutilated and butchered to accommodate a banner, artificial ivy and a papier-mâché effigy and, obviously, to give a better view of the statue leaving and entering the parish church.

One would be justified to ask: if the trees were not butchered, would Our Lady of the Nativity have been displeased or angry? Has the butchering of the trees in question contributed anything toward a better spiritual respect for and adherence to our religion?

Couldn’t the banners and papier-mâché effigy have been moved a couple of metres to save the trees from being butchered? Can the Church authorities intervene to stop this yearly butchering of trees, also in the light of Pope Francis’s encyclical letter on the environment? Or has Pope Francis’s spiritual letter Laudato Si’ been stopped at the Senglea gates?

Are these external celebrations contributing to half- empty churches during spiritual functions inside the church? Do the Church authorities in Malta approve the destruction or butchering of the Lord’s creation to accommodate a banner in honour of Our Lady of the Nativity?

There was once a surprising reply from a representative of the Catholic Church in Malta: things which occur outside church buildings are not the responsibility of the Church! Can somebody then explain why there is a lot of preaching against adultery, theft and murder? These do not occur inside churches, so far as one is aware.

It seems that the Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist and educator George Steiner was near the truth when he wrote: “The universal religion, for the majority of homo sapiens, is none other than football.”

In January 2019, the Environment and Resources Authority published its Guidelines on Works Involving Trees. These guidelines clearly state that:

“Pruning from spring through summer shall be avoided due to effects on the health of the tree and insect or disease problems.

“Pruning during late spring and summer or during flowering shall be avoided.

“Appropriate pruning measures should aim to first prune for safety, then for health of the tree, and finally for aesthetics (achieving the desirable natural tree form).

If ERA feels comfortable granting a permit for the butchering of trees against its own guidelines, how can it expect others to protect biodiversity?- Alfred Baldacchino

“Pruning carried out on branches larger than 5cm in diameter is considered as hard pruning. This form of pruning should be avoided by long-term maintenance and care of trees such as through regular pruning, and should only be carried out for reasons of safety and health of the tree. Hard pruning for aesthetic reasons shall be avoided altogether.

“Exceptions arise when there are hazards on the tree itself or other specimens, hazards to the public, vehicles, buildings and/or other cases as determined and approved through a permit.

“Chainsaws should only be used when branches are larger than 10cm in diameter and by qualified and experienced individuals.”

Now if one looks at the photos of trees opposite the Senglea church published by Times of Malta and on social media one can see the irresponsible, unprofessional butchering of the trees, all against the ERA Guidelines on Works Involving Trees and with a permit from ERA itself, one would assume.

If ERA feels comfortable granting a permit for the butchering of trees against its own guidelines, how can it expect third parties to respect the guidelines and protect biodiversity in general?

Was any Church authority or representative’s influence brought to bear to obtain a permit for such butchering?

Is the driver at the helm of ERA unaware of the guidelines issued by his ‘competent authority’? This has also happened in it-Tokk, Gozo, a few weeks ago. Just to accommodate a banner!

These trees were butchered with a blessing and legal permit from ERA, the authority which is rarely on the side of those who want to protect biodiversity in line with national and EU obligations, despite having a professor from the University of Malta at its helm.

If ERA were something of the past, and today there was no ERA things would not be much worse regarding environmental matters.

Alfred Baldacchino is a former assistant director of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.