When church bells toll

All Alexander Cortis did was to complain about the nuisance caused by the ringing of church bells in Zabbar. It was enough for the reactionary forces that bedevil our island to chime in defence of the practice. I am fully in sympathy with Mr Cortis.

About a month ago, I had occasion to visit a bank in close proximity to Zabbar church, arriving at 8.15 a.m. Prior to opening 15 minutes later, there were only three people before me and very soon more joined behind me. Suddenly, the church bells started ringing and continued to do so for the next 14 minutes. A cacophony of unbearable noise and, as it was the beginning of a busy day for me, I did not want to escape the noise and lose my place in the queue.

Mr Cortis wrote with much reverence about the Church's attitude towards bell ringing and his questioning of the necessity for bell ringing frequently has much validity. Unfortunately, he was too timid to remind the Church authorities that, in causing so much disturbance, they are ignoring one of the most important tenets of our religion, namely the love of one's neighbour. To love one's neighbour involves consideration for others. This means you do not throw rubbish in the street, allowing your dog to foul the footpath and playing loud music to the annoyance of your neighbours.

It also means, in the context of the Zabbar church, that before indulging in frequent and, to many, senseless bell ringing, consideration should be given to those that have a pacemaker strapped to their heart, to those suffering from migraine headaches, to those that have returned from night shift work, to those, like Mr Cortis, who are rightfully entitled to a little peace and quiet in their own homes, to the public and to those that nowadays are not caring much about the activities of the Church, as the last survey on Mass attendance showed.

Some may react in defence of this noise pollution but if they are good Catholics they must accept that the Church is not practising what it preaches about loving one's neighbour.

I say to the Zabbar parish priest: If you must ring those infernal bells, limit the frequency of use and give a thought to those who would appreciate less noise pollution that is endemic in Malta.