Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma conferred the Ġieħ il-Parroċċa award on two former archpriests and a missionary during Pontifical Mass at the Cathedral in Victoria on August 15, feast of Santa Marija.

The recipients are former cathedral archpriests Mgr Joseph Vella-Gauci (1996-2007) and Mgr Joseph Attard (2007-2016), as well as missionary Fr Anton Grech. Fr Grech is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination and 25 years of missionary work in a remote village in Guatemala.

In his homily, Mgr Teuma emphasized how at the root of the pro-abortion mentality, materialism and anger reign supreme. He said the mother had the duty of hospitality, but did not have the right of property. More than once in the past weeks, Mgr Teuma referred to the life of the baby in the womb, a gift given by God and not a property.

Indeed Santa Marija deserves a great feast. The more the human being sinks low, the more we feel the need to look up, the more we need someone who gives us hope that comes from above... from Santa Marija, the one who was assumed into Heaven to show us the way

Mgr Teuma said: “The mother needs to host the new being, but she is not the owner... Tell it to those who are trying to have children; tell it to those who are trying to raise the children as they wish.” He said during the upbringing of their children parents should realise they cannot make the children their property.

Apart from a materialistic mentality, there was also a very aggressive mentality, as demonstrated by a recent survey conducted by an American company where it turned out the Maltese were the angriest people in Europe, Mgr Teuma said.

Mgr Teuma said: “Indeed Santa Marija deserves a great feast. The more the human being sinks low, the more we feel the need to look up, the more we need someone who gives us hope that comes from above... from Santa Marija, the one who was assumed into Heaven to show us the way.”