Years ago one used to say "what's in a word?" Yet there's so much that can be said in just a word as "newness" or in two words "innovative ideas" or three words "winds of change".

These very days we are going through the winds of change. There seems to be real newness in the air. And as one feels it one can't but hope. In the meantime there's so much talking about what has to be performed by new people, and very little talk about what you and I have to do.

We all have to pull our weight. Everyone wants society to change but society will not change before you and I pull our weight. The winds of change have to pass through us all, as individuals, as a community, as a nation.

For Malta and Gozo, these are days of great expectations. Days that should be used actively and not just passively. No-one can just stand behind the touchline. Soon we'll have a new Archbishop for Malta and a new Bishop for Gozo. We'll soon have a new President of the Republic; we'll have a new Prime Minister, we have a new party leader, helped shortly by a new deputy leader.

Newness is a joint challenge for them all as well us for us. Such newness is a stiff challenge to our politicians, to social partners, to trade unionists, to all those directly or indirectly involved in the media, to all members of the clergy and laity alike. New ideas need new methods and a new mentality.

For sure, these new challenges have to be faced very intelligently and very willingly, not only in the spirit and in the light of Vatican II, but also in the spirit and light of the documents of the Synod of the Archdiocese.

This is indeed a very propitious time for many exquisite critics of all that others perform, and a God-sent time to all those who prefer a cozy lifestyle, always inclined to moan and groan, and recalcitrant to join the ranks of hardworking citizens.

For sure, what we need these days is fewer inane protests but more concrete proposals. What we need is not "protesti" but "proposti". Yes, less poetry and more versatile prose. The time is ripe for an aggiornamento.

While A Christian Outlook wishes good luck to all our new heads, whether bishops or political leaders, we wish to congratulate Dr Lawrence Gonzi for his very clear and sound defence of a healthy family while he was answering questions put to him on his role as future prime minister, on divorce during a TV programme.

He stressed to the questioners that it is of utmost importance to be firm on principles, but compassionate and very helpful towards individuals and married couples with serious problems.

It is opportune to admit that it is a pity that most pastoral and professional attention is directed towards marriages in crisis and Malta is no exception. As the late Cardinal Basil Hume used to say: "If we are concerned exclusively with the care of the sick, we may ignore the needs of the healthy and that is the quickest way to swell the ranks of sick."

Much credit has to be accorded to Archbishop Mercieca and Bishop Cauchi for their Pastoral Letter for Lent this year, so rich in the Church's Magisterium and for their fellow feelings for couples in distress.

We are all so thankful to Pope John Paul II for his stand on the subject of marriage. During his pastoral visit to the UK he said: "Treasure your families. Protect their rights. Support the family by your laws and administration. Allow the voice of the family to be heard in the making of your policies. The future of your society, the future of humanity, passes by way of the family."