The Opposition Leader's statement in reaction to the Pope's death came in with qualifiers.

Dr Sant's qualified comments included: "Even if you do not agree with some of the work (the Pope) undertook with all his heart", "Even when you did not agree with the strong positions John Paul II took", and "This great Pope, love him or hate him..."

Disagreements and reservations between human beings are natural.

But Maltese politicians need to learn, for the sake of proper diplomatic behaviour, that their expressed obituaries for good people should either be unqualified or not expressed at all as witnessed by Saudi Arabia's total official silence. This is not a matter of religious dogma; it's a matter of diplomatic etiquette in a civilised society.

Irrespective of who the defunct leader is, whether it is a Pope or a Maltese political leader, there is no need for those from the other side to remind us in their kind thoughts at the point of death that they didn't always agree with him or her.

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