Time to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus

I went to Maltapost to buy some Christmas stamps to use on my Christmas cards. I was disturbed to see that, instead of depicting the typical nativity scenes or the Christ child, related to the birth of Our Saviour, as in previous years, Maltapost has this year issued stamps with the theme of Santa’s workshop. They show Santa, elves, candy sticks, bells and wreaths.

A 2000 Christmas stamp. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Are we trying to be smart this year? Do we want to ignore the fact that, at Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus?

This is the time to treasure our roots not just discard them with the lame excuse of hurting the non-believers who live on the island. Rejecting God in our daily life will only create more chaos in a world that is already in turmoil.

Josette Gallon – St Julian’s

Held hostage

The PN’s or, rather, the PN establishment’s decision, to try and block the appointment of former chief justice Joe Azzopardi as the new commissioner for standards – despite the fact that the PN’s supposed leader, Bernard Grech, had given his consent to the prime minister, both verbally and in writing – has, once again, confirmed that both Grech and the PN are being held hostage by a few political extremists within the opposition’s parliamentary group, aided and abetted by the political extremist PN faction calling itself Repubblika.

It is becoming glaringly embarrassing for genuine, serious-minded PN voters to keep voting PN as long as the PN remains hostage to a relatively small clique of political extremists. And a leader who has to keep bowing his head to the dictates of this extremist establishment, thus making it impossible for the party to again be considered by the majority of Maltese and Gozitan voters as a credible alternative to the Labour government.

How right Prime Minister Robert Abela is when he keeps saying “With us you know where we stand.” In fact, with the PN not even their leader knows where he stands.

Eddy Privitera – Naxxar

Defending life

During his farewell speech at Malta International Airport, on May 9, 2001, Pope St John Paul II had said:

“I have wished to encourage believers and all people of goodwill to defend life, to promote respect for the dignity of every human being, to safeguard the family against so many present-day threats, to open their hearts to the world’s poor and exploited and to work for an international order built on respect for the rule of law and on solidarity with the less fortunate.”

The human embryo is calling you to defend, respect, safeguard and show solidarity with him. Say no to the abortion amendment by signing the petition to stop abortion coming to Malta by accessing www.salvani.eu.

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap – Marsa