Why are Labour elves and trolls who populate the social networks, particularly Facebook, incensed by the election pastoral letter written by our bishops and published on Saturday?
Go on Facebook and you can read the abuse, insults and crude hate.
Why are they so angry that the bishops appealed to voters to “choose people of wisdom and integrity, who treasure and embrace the ethical values that we believe in”?
Could it be that they don’t want to listen to appeals for wisdom and integrity because they lost Dr Godfrey Farrugia and are lumped with JPO? Alfred Sant who had described JPO as politically corrupt now told The Malta Independent that he would even prefer to vote for Żaren ta’ l-Ajkla instead of JPO?
The bishops exhorted the people to vote “according to our conscience, which means that before God we recognize what is right and true, and therefore choose what is truly beneficial for the common good and for a just society”. Why do Labour trolls feel disadvantaged if people vote for the common good and for a just society? Is it because now there is a tsunami of proof pointing towards corruption at the highest offices of the land?
Let me show you just a few of the pearls of wisdom that are littering Facebook. The comments are reproduced in the manner they were written.
A certain Ray Calleja said that the Bishops are anti-Catholic: ‘int mhux il mexxej patorali tieghi int kontra ir relugion kattolika ...jien se nivotta Labour.”
Lawrence Mizzi upped the ante, hypothesising the the Archbishop is the devil incarnate: 'il knisja ila li spiccat min mindu lehaq dal nofs bniedem jekk hu bniedem ax ghandi dubji tieghi jekk mux xitan.'
Some even suggested that I wrote the pastoral letter. May I put their mind at rest. Had I been involved I would have been tempted to include a sentence from the first reading of the first Sunday of the electoral campaign. St Peter exhorted his audience: Save yourself from this corrupt generation.
Karen Azzopardi Arnaud condemned the bishops to eternal damnation: 'hjar ddur dawra mal qassisin petofli li ghandkom u taraw xha tamlu bijhom milli tindahlu fil politika u fi kliem iehor tajdilna biex nivvutaw lil Simon il buffu bhalkom...isthu min Alla...u iva la mmorru quddiemu nhalluh jiggudika jekk ux ahna jew int u bella kumpanija tijak il hziena....kemm niehu bazz narakom niezlin l infern.'
Claudia Agius is a tad up-market. She contributed her comment in the English language, of sorts. ‘I will definitely not go to church tomorrow i hear enough about politics on media i honestly don't want to listen about politics while i am in church sur isqof.’
Julian Briffa seems to know a couple of verses from the Gospel though his knowledge of Maltese is abysimal. ‘Oqbra imbajda...ajdulna mil lewel al min triduna nivotaw... ara vera ma titalmu qatt specjalment lusqof ta Malta...Ma andekx alfejn tajdilna lil min nivotaw....ha nivota lil min amilini nejx u nux nezisti...lil min temani meta kont bil guh lil min libisni meta kobt arwin u lil min irridni nimxi il quddiem...’
Emilio Bonnice mixes the nutritional value of Bovril with being endowed, or not, with a conscience and a brain. ‘Eccelenza bovril il kbir Alla li suppost tirraprezenta int taghna mohh u kuxjenza u nafu nuzawhom, ghalhekk ser nivvutaw ghall Joseph. Ara lilek il mohh u l kuxjenza hadomlok.’
Some even suggested that I wrote the pastoral letter. May I put their mind at rest. Had I been involved I would have been tempted to include a sentence from the first reading of the first Sunday of the electoral campaign.
St Peter exhorted his audience: Save yourself from this corrupt generation.