Gozo is not an ‘island’. The reality of Gozitan society is constantly shaped not just by geography, culture and heritage but also by national, social, economic and political development.

National developments in these fields attain greater relevance in view of the accelerating development in the same fields taking place in the international sphere.

Therefore, genuine interest in Gozo’s economy should focus not just on furthering the island’s economic development but also in helping attain a just and even distribution of wealth across the whole social and economic spectrum of Maltese society.

Pope Benedict, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, invites us to put the technical discussion of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing economic and social reality firmly within this holistic vision of the development process.

The encyclical develops an articulated, multifaceted, multi- disciplinary perspective of the economic and social development process.

Reading the encyclical in the context of Gozo’s development process I can identify two themes of great relevance to this discussion.

The first point is the following: a development process which is exclusively guided by the search for profit is bound to create poverty and exclusion. As Pope Benedict says in the encyclical: “Profit is useful in providing a sense of what to produce and how to make good use of it.”

The depth and wisdom of this message must inspire our endeavours in order that our political and economic structures produce holistic solutions for the Gozitan development agenda, solutions which build on positive experience and which manage to shape a new vision for the future.

On a more concrete level, we are urged to review the methods our institutions have traditionally used to identify and highlight Gozo’s needs in the human, social and economic development spheres.

This review must be inspired by caritas, or love, for the whole of society. It should be guided by a deep reflection on the entire ramifications of furthering the development of man.

It might thus be most appropriate for both private and, even more so, public institutions to take a frank, truthful and objective assessment of how the Gozitan social and economic fabric has been affected by the particularly challenging economic times we are going through.

Authorities and institutions need to undertake a similar multifaceted, informed assessment of all the possibilities available for more effective means of intervention in order that they can better complement and, if necessary, support the private sector’s initiatives in Gozo’s economic and social development.

This assessment should also identify areas where markets are failing so that a more focused intervention by public sector institutions can be devised to enable Gozo get a fair share of benefits generated by improved economic conditions both locally and abroad.

The Pope in the same the encyclical develops a second concept. He identifies the link between genuine development and the individual’s calling to serve others.

In Chapter 3, he discusses the central theological role of the act of giving, an act which “often go(es) unrecognised because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life”.

The process of development is not assisted whenever we selfishly close ourselves to others, to life and to society.

Every economic act cannot be “shielded from influences of a moral character”.

This profound truth, which is at times contradicted by the economic realities we experience around us, helps us realise how Christian hope can, and should, enrich the efforts of humankind to improve its living condition.

In this sense, the Church reminds man to beware the presence of original sin in economic acts and in the social and business organisations we create to further our society’s development.

This message should serve as a beacon which inexorably leads us to embrace truth, which as the Pope teaches, is greater than we are.

It is my conviction that Maltese society in general and the Gozitan situation in particular would benefit if our economic relations are more open to this noble influence that this aspect of Christian teaching puts in front of us.

By keeping God’s message to humankind close to our hearts and minds, we are favourably positioned to contribute in no negligible way towards our society’s well-being.

Mgr Grech is Bishop of Gozo.