Room for thought: the rebirth of innocence

If we but bow our head in true humility seeking mercy we will experience it. The human heart knows real distress from remorse that follows on personal errors in the pursuit of love. I pine in distress for the frustration in the hearts of those whose quest for love is forlorn from foolish liaisons that are enslavements.

From these self-inflicted wounds Christ is the only liberation: he is the answer for us all. What's more, there is no good for anyone in the self-deception that irregular intimate relationships constitute a kind of marriage. Any honest politician can recognise the true nature of marriage from its spousal promise reflecting divine love itself.

Pope John Paul the Great has provided the foundations for building the civilisation of love through his series of public teaching sessions entitled "Original unity of man and woman". This promises to bring beauty back into the experiences of regaining lost innocence in personal relations. These visions empower the personal human rejection of abortion, of divorce, of contraception, and offer a new dimension for human creativity in the socio-economic texture of life for future generations.

This is where the young at the university can find innocence anew in our culture today. A "theology of the body" unit would be the most valuable lecture series any student in Malta could have for his future profession.

"We are born in Malta, but we grow in Europe" was a wise vox pop from Paceville before the EU referendum. The four arms of the Maltese Cross can point to the values of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance which the young need to make their hallmark in a brand of true professionalism aimed at the future of the human person in Europe and beyond.

"Happy are the pure of heart, for they shall see God!" The truth of this beatitude is that the apparent losers are actually the winners. This is true not only in marriage, but also in society with its economic and social dimensions. Let us not forget our dockyard and the plight of the Middle East and Darfur. Deus caritas est.