Archbishop warns of attack on family unit

Parents had an obligation towards their children and they could not shirk their responsibilities by passing them onto relatives or other people, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca said yesterday.

"Children are the responsibility of their parents, even when, or if, this means making sacrifices. This is also the children's right, which should not be denied," he said.

Speaking during the celebrations of Christ the King at Qormi, Mgr Mercieca spoke of the family as the core of society; God's design for a union between man and woman till death. His main message was the fight between good and evil.

The family, according to God's will, was built on marriage, a stable community and sanctuary of love and life. However, it seemed that the Church's teachings on the family were not going down well with some.

"The fight against the truth on the family is gradually starting to raise its voice in Malta too. For example, there are some among us who are spreading the false and deceptive mentality that if trouble brews among a couple, they could not be expected to remain together for the rest of their lives," he said.

Another way of thinking that was emerging was the idea that fidelity in a marriage was impossible in today's life, and infidelity was being portrayed as something normal. The idea of cohabitation was also taking root in Malta.

"All this shows that we're not giving God the rightful place in our lives; instead we're setting Him aside with the consequence that honesty and sacrifice are being portrayed as no longer in fashion, while the appetite and race for money is put on a pedestal."

Mgr Mercieca said that despite the black clouds gathering over the island, there were many couples who battled the rough weather to keep their marriage intact.

Touching on a different note, he appealed to politicians to steer clear of being partisan and instead work together towards the country's common good.

He ended by hailing Christ the King and calling on people to cleanse their hearts from sin and follow God's will.