Church has duty to ‘enrich’ politicians – bishop

The Church had the “right and the duty” to speak publicly and enrich politicians so they could lead the way, according to Gozo Bishop Mario Grech.

Speaking on the occasion of the Birth of Our Lady (Marija Bambina), Mgr Grech reflected on the value of beauty and how art and nature could bring people closer to God.

Turning to the Church, he said it only reflected God’s beauty if it lived the sacrament of love, especially with regard to those who were “poor” in some way or another.

“Since Victory day is tied in with the victories Malta made in the Great Siege and in the Second World War, we can say that in a sense this feast has a relationship with this country’s political life.

He said it was the Church’s right and duty to have a public space to expose the truth, and with its beauty morally enrich politicians, so that they could be guides to the country.

This help, he said, was needed in particular by Catholic politicians who were called to clothe society in the beauty of God through their work.

“In the context of an ideological crisis, Christian principles have a great responsibility. A relationship between the Church and civil institutions is not a confessional choice, but a lay one,” Mgr Grech said.