The living Church
Why does John Guillaumier always blame the Church for the bad behaviour by some of its clergy (November 20)?
How about the bright side of the Church, like, for instance, St Ġorġ Preca, a great educator of children and youths who founded the MUSEUM; Mgr Mikiel Azzopardi who founded Id-Dar tal-Providenza for people with disabilities; Fra Diego Bonanno, who did so much work for young woman in distress?
Not to mention Mgr Victor Grech, the founder of Caritas; Mgr Ġużeppi Depiro, founder of MSSP; Mgr Sidor Formosa, founder of the crèche for unwanted babies; Dun Mikiel Xerri, a martyr of the Maltese uprising in 1798 during the French occupation; Mgr Mikiel Gonzi, who was archbishop of Malta during World War II; the venerable Nazju Falzon, who converted 600 British servicemen stationed in Malta during the Crimean War; Mgr Charles Vella, founder of the Cana Movement for engaged couples and, last but not least, our national poet, Dun Karm Psaila.
The list is much longer but that’s enough for now.
Francis Vella – Mosta
From the wilderness to a cage
About 10 days ago, I wrote about the area needed for male and female tigers to live in contentment. Today, I chose to write about the draft legislation proposed by the agriculture ministry (‘All dangerous zoo animals to be neutered, draft rules say’, November 10).
Why of all the animals aren’t dogs chosen as pets, especially knowing that dog and man have lived together for many thousands of years?
If in the heading of the article it is said that all dangerous zoo animals are to be neutered, how on earth can you breed from them?
Apart from the fact that Malta isn’t suitable for animals because of its size, why choose dangerous animals such as tigers, lions, panthers and other wild cats as pets, which are used to living in no-man’s-land? Wild cats, together with other wild animals, are bred to kill their prey no matter if domesticated or not.
Karl Flores – San Ġwann
Non-viable pregnancies
It seems that Christopher Bezzina (November 23) is quite certain that the factual information given to a woman that her pregnancy is non-viable will persuade her to perform an abortion.
No one can deny the anguish and suffering of a couple when such a diagnosis is received. However, I would like to ask Bezzina whether, apart from the diagnosis, information about the actual procedure that takes place during an abortion is also provided.
Would a couple who is made aware of the cruel procedure that is about to be performed on their unborn baby remain indifferent?
Would not this prove to be a greater ordeal to bear for the rest of their lives?
Would it not be more humane if they accept their child to be born and lovingly embrace her/him even for just a few hours?
Phyllis Sammut Smith – Gżira
Cabinet on steroids
It is truly mind-boggling how a country the size of Malta (physically and population-wise) weighs in with practically the largest cabinet in the EU. The countries that have larger cabinets have larger populations.
This is especially bemusing when, as we have learned, the Maltese (kitchen) cabinet really boiled down to the prime minister and his twin henchmen. Other members of the (theoretical) cabinet fessed up that they didn’t know this and didn’t know that.
And, of course, there were no spines to be found among any of them. Things don’t seem to have changed much with a pandemic situation, which you would think is addressed in line with what the prime minister in Malta says and the health authorities seemingly having the rug pulled out from under their feet repeatedly. What’s the good of such a mammoth cabinet if it boils down to only one person? Again?
To carry on with the ‘kitchen’ metaphor, it seems that the local modus operandi is to treat cabinet and public alike like mushrooms: keep them in the dark and feed them plenty manure.
Anna Micallef – Sliema
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