Cause and effect

Jacqueline Calleja’s letter (November 11) laments that the decline in church attendance is due to the secularisation of western society and that God has been squeezed out by modern man’s mistaken belief that he can be self-sufficient.

This is surely to confuse cause and effect. Secularisation occurs precisely because increasing numbers of people find attendance at church, and much of Christian doctrine, to be irrelevant to daily life. People come to believe that the human race has to be self-sufficient precisely because, over many centuries, God has been found unreliable.

Faith is not given to everyone. For those who believe in an all-powerful and all-loving God, suffering must clearly be a problem.

But for those who don’t, why does suffering have to have a ‘meaning’? Why exactly does there have to be ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ of human life? Why does there have to be some supernatural explanation of where one comes from, what one is doing here on earth, or where one is heading? For many people, these questions have simple and straightforward answers that have no need of theological speculation.

Alan Cooke – Sliema

Pensions anomaly

Photo: Shutterstock.com

In the budget, it was announced that the anomaly regarding pre-1962 pensioners will be tackled; however, no details of when and how were given.

I hope this is not another promise to satisfy those of us who suffered this injustice under the previous administration.

In the meantime, I hope the government will not drag its feet as pensioners in this bracket are running out of time and wish to see this anomaly resolved.

Michael Vella – Sliema

Anton Bisazza

It used to be such a pleasure to see Anton Bisazza when he visited from Australia. How very sad to learn that we won’t be seeing him again.

Anton was one of our 1969 medical course group but among the unexciting book worms he stood out as some colourful and handsome character bursting out of a novel or a movie script. Bad turns of luck, as so many of us have, never extinguished his positive attitude, his smile and sense of humour.

There was never any hidden agenda to beware of with Anton – he said what he felt and he was happy to converse, open up and expose his soul. He must have been very good with patients. He worked in the UK, Africa and Australia.

Farewell my friend – we’ll miss you.

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard