Bishop on ethical, spiritual deficits

The same way the economic deficit had to be tackled sensibly, so too should mankind address its ethical and spiritual deficits, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech urged.

Certain worrying deficits were surfacing in Malta, such as particular lifestyles that stripped away a person's dignity and created a new form of poverty.

A fast-paced life was also robbing people of the chance to nurture relations with others, to their detriment and that of the family, he added.

Addressing a congregation gathered in Għarb on Sunday to mark the feast of Our Lady's visit to Elizabeth, Mgr Grech also spoke of an ethical deficit where people were shunning any criteria that enabled them to embrace the good in life and reject evil.

Lastly, there was a spiritual deficit where religion was reduced to "civic religion"; for many, Christianity was merely a moral code rather than an experience of God's mysteries.