St John's Co-Cathedral open for prayer

Reference is made to the letter titled When St Peter Says Pay Up Or Get Out (June 24). Timothy Bartolo "charge(d) the Bishop, and all relevant authorities, to take action and remedy this blasphemous heresy".

Mr Bartolo may wish to note that St John's Co-Cathedral is open every morning free of charge for religious celebrations, mainly Mass, including all of Sunday morning.

It is also open free of charge for all Church celebrations and state events as well as for a wide range of activities promoting religious culture.

During Museums Day, Notte Bianca and similar events the Co-Cathedral and the Museum are open to all visitors, again free of charge.

Moreover, all bona fide worshippers who actually wish to pray at any other time when the Co-Cathedral is open, can do so by simply informing the custodians of their intention. Mr Bartolo perhaps is not aware that "Entrance to the Co-Cathedral, for anyone wishing to pray is (not "should be") free of charge".

The admission fee for visitors for touristic purposes is absolutely necessary in order to maintain, conserve and restore the Co-Cathedral as "a prime example of our identity, the product of our spirituality and our rich history, intertwined into one of the most breathtaking baroque churches in the world". Since the Co-Cathedral has seriously suffered from lack of proper care for a couple of centuries, Mr Bartolo may wish to know that the Co-Cathedral does not need "some sort of funding".

The foundation responsible for its conservation and restoration needs to invest hundreds of thousands of euros each year in order to try to restore it to its former glory as part of a vast programme of ongoing works. The results of the foundation's efforts are visible and tangible and seem to be appreciated by all visitors and lovers of Malta's heritage. Without the admission fee hardly any maintenance, let alone conservation and restoration were possible.

Mr Bartolo may wish to know that the members of the council of the foundation do not receive any remuneration whatsoever but the great satisfaction that their time and energy, complete dedication and commitment to St John's are gradually producing the expected positive results.

Hence, Mr Bartolo did not need to include in his letter such words and phrases as "arrogant buffoon", "preposterous", "guilt", "condemn", "antagonise", "morally, ethically and fundamentally wrong", "disgusted", "damned", "if some lout dares stop me or banish me", "poignant looks", "misguided, pathetic fools", "imaginary power", "charge the Bishop" (probably referring to the Archbishop who was brought into the picture unnecessarily), "blasphemous heresy", "ignoring and defying" and "all imbeciles".

These completely unwarranted expressions do not lead to "experiencing an enhanced sense of spiritual piety" while praying.