Change Gżira’s name

I don’t know whether there is a committee in Malta whose responsibility is the naming of streets and towns or whether this is solely the responsibility of local councils.

I would propose for consideration that the town of Gżira has its name changed to Stivalaville.

John Caruana – Pietà

The milestone at Vittoriosa museum

The milestone at the Malta at War Museum, Vittoriosa

Having been mentioned in the article ‘Milestones in Malta and Gozo during and after World War II’ (January 7), I wish to clarify that the complete milestone presently held by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna at its Malta at War Museum, in Vittoriosa and referred to in the article was stored at the one-time PWD Bombi stores before being stolen in the 1970s or 1980s along with other decorative stonework.

These were successfully recovered by the then Museums Department in the early 2000s, which elected to present it, along with another erased example, to FWA for inclusion at the museum.

That is the only connection with Portes des Bombes. Otherwise, it is an excellent article.

Mario Farrugia, chairperson and CEO, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna – Vittoriosa

Two-storey priesthood

Ray Azzopardi (‘Exclusive ties with God’, January 16) seems to be considering the possibility of a two-level priesthood.

On the superior level, we would have those supposedly solely dedicated to the service of God and the Church and expressing that dedication through the ‘nobler’ gift of celibacy. On the lower level, we would have those inferior priests who, ‘giving in to the frailty of human nature and losing faith in God’s special graces tied down to the sacrament of Holy Orders’, would be incapable of expressing a ‘total and unreserved sacrificial giving of oneself in worship of the Father’.

St Peter, the Rock on whom (so Matthew’s Gospel tells us) Jesus intended to build His Church with its awesome array of doctrine, discipline, jurisdiction, papacy, episcopate and priesthood, was himself a married man. The last married pope reigned as late as the ninth century.

Is Azzopardi seriously maintaining that these men were somehow less dedicated to God and His people because they were married?

St Paul, himself a celibate like Jesus, freely admits (1 Corinthians 9:5) that marriage is fully compatible with apostolic ministry.

And, as a report on the front page of the same issue of Times of Malta makes clear, celibacy is by no means a guarantee of what Azzopardi’s article describes as ‘the total and unreserved sacrificial self-giving of oneself’.

Celibates are just as capable of wickedness as the rest of us.

Alan Cooke – Sliema