Stop meddling with the family, Bishop insists

The traditional family could not continue to be meddled with, and society had to decide which family model it wanted to promote, a concerned Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said.

Reflecting on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Mgr Grech said love, attention and shelter were important elements for a child's development.

"However, if we look around it's hard to put our mind at rest that children are being treasured. We can no longer continue conducting experiments on the family," he said in a homily, while celebrating Christmas Mass at Sir Temi Zammit Boys' Secondary School, in Mtarfa, on Monday.

Continuing along the same thread of the Holy Family, he said nowadays parents and children were being denied proper housing, the same way that Mary and Joseph failed to find proper accommodation.

"We meet young couples who are knocking on the doors of those who can help, but the price of property is so high they either have to delay starting a family or get into a lot of debt, which in itself is a burden that's leading to disastrous consequences," he said.

"This is a social problem that whoever has the family at heart cannot afford to neglect."

Mgr Grech did not stop short of expressing his concern at the way young children were being left for long hours with grandparents or at childcare centres.

"There are parents who need to resort to this kind of help, but I ask if there are cases when transferring children from their natural home can be avoided because it's not the best approach."

He also likened Herod's soldiers to the various elements that were threatening the life of adolescents and young people, such as abortion, drugs, alcoholism and reckless driving.

Everybody had a role to ensure that life was respected from the moment of conception.

From the subject of life, Mgr Grech moved on to the importance of a person's spiritual dimension and formation, something he feared young children were being denied.

He also touched on the phenomenon of clandestine or refugee children, comparing their plight to the Holy Family's escape to Egypt in the face of Herod's threat.

"We cannot adopt the attitude that this is someone else's problem, but an unfolding human story that deserves our attention," he said. He finished his homily by expressing his gratitude to all the parents, teachers, priests and lay people who worked untiringly to ensure that children have a good upbringing.

Mass was preceded with a procession with the statue of Baby Jesus around the school grounds, a Christmas tradition of the MUSEUM (the Society of Christian Doctrine), and the traditional boy's sermon.