Shame on us

May 7, 2022 will be remembered by all people of good will as a very sad and painful day.

It was the day when Porziuncola Retreat House was completely demolished. It is a despicable thing to do that helps one understand quite easily the legitimate reaction of all those who have to heart good neighbourliness, the preservation of peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and last but not least love of our natural environment.

What will be built instead will be a glaring monstrosity, a monumental eyesore and reminder for the years to come of our hypocrisy, our shame and our betrayal as Franciscans. We have absolutely nothing to be happy for or be proud of. We are no longer qualified to uphold and champion the Franciscan values of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.

Photo: Jonathan Borg

We lost all credibility for the sole sake of money. What we did is diametrically opposite to the very fatherly words of His Holiness Pope Francis when he was among us just a few weeks before. We are perpetrators and collaborators of an unforgivable and grave injustice towards our neighbours, with whom we had enjoyed until now a peaceful and respectful coexistence. No amount of reasons or excuses brought forward by anybody can ever justify this infamous and heinous act.

The end, no matter how good one might try to paint it, never justifies the means.

None are so blind as those who wouldn’t see. None are so deaf as those who wouldn’t listen. As Jesus once said, “For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn back – and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13,15). If the hat fits, we have to be honest, at least with ourselves, and wear it.

As the Romans used to say “Qui tacet consentire videtur!” That is “He who remains silent, is taken to agree”! If I am to be true to my vocation I don’t have the liberty to remain silent.

Fr Richard Stanley Grech O.F.M. – Rabat

Central Bank’s inflation plan

I refer to Kevin-James Fenech’s article ‘The need for an inflation strategy’ (May 10).

In his piece, Fenech gives an overview of the factors behind inflationary pressures in Malta and abroad and puts forward some policy prescriptions. More specifically, he writes: “From a macro perspective, persistent ‘high’ inflation will put pressure (eventually) on the Central Bank of Malta to raise interest rates and this will not only negatively impact borrowers (ranging from home loans to business loans) but increase the likelihood of an economic slowdown.”

I would like to clarify some points regarding the role of the Central Bank of Malta in the fight against inflation.

First, the Central Bank of Malta has no powers to set interest rates in Malta and has not had such powers since Malta adopted the euro in January 2008. It is the European Central Bank (ECB), through its Governing Council, that decides on the level of official interest rates in the euro area. The governor of the Central Bank of Malta is a member of the Governing Council, together with the governors of the central banks of the other 18 countries that have adopted the euro and the executive board of the ECB.

Second, the ECB is responsible for maintaining price stability in the euro area. Last July, the ECB set a target for inflation of two per cent for the euro area as a whole over the medium term. Given the increase in inflation in the euro area in recent months and given the inflation outlook, it is increasingly likely that the ECB will stop net asset purchases, which were being used to inject liquidity in the financial markets, in the third quarter of 2022.

Some time after net asset purchases stop, the ECB may raise official interest rates, depending on incoming data and its assessment of the prospects for inflation.

I would like to reassure Fenech and also readers that both the ECB and the Central Bank of Malta are committed to the pursuit of price stability. Any monetary policy decisions will be taken with that aim in mind.

John Caruana, head, Monetary Policy, Eurosystem and International Relations Department, Central Bank of Malta – Valletta