My choice for 2011 (1)

It is customary in the media to end the year by looking back at the events that marked it. In these last couple of day till the end of the year I would like to share with you a few quotes taken from my blogs while trying to reminisce the events which, in my opinion, marked the year.

Who is the real monster: Bickle or our society?

“Mr Justice Mallia was right in saying that the guilty verdict of the jurors was a condemnation of those responsible for the prisons. He should have gone a step further. Her guilty verdict is, in more senses than one, a condemnation of each and every one of us who benefits from the society we live in but does nothing to make this society a better on.” (18/12/11)

Goodbye Dun Annett

“I have just heard of the sudden dead of Bishop Mgr. Annetto Depasquale whom all of us priests and many others knew as Dun Annett. Tearful skies saluted his passing away to the house of our Father in heaven.

I knew him as a perfect gentleman: gentle but firm as much as he was fair. He was both a man of principles as well as a lover of people. Principles were at the service of people.

He was a man of conviction not a man of convenience.”  (22/11/11)

Culture, conviction and compensation

“The Bishops [in a Pastoral Letter published in October] challenged us to reflect on the quality of our Christian life. The quotation from Pope Benedict, which the Bishops used to bolster their position, states that we have to move away from a culture-based-Christianity towards a Christianity-by-personal-choice. Both our bishops have, in the recent past, emphasized the importance of this transition.

The Pope's quote speaks against the privatization of religion. We have a place and a voice in the public sphere. He clearly stated that even when Christians are in a minority they should propose their values to the rest of society. This socio-cultural (besides evangelizing) role does not reduce Christianity to a cultural phenomenon. Benedict clearly states "that we are not identical with culture and with the nation". On the other hand, we are not foreign to them though we cannot depend on cultural support.” (06/10/11)

The present state of public discourse

“The release of Arrigo coincided with the Gospel reading about forgiveness. We who continually ask God for forgiveness should not refuse to forgive those who trespass against us – personally or as part of society. I was shocked by the spirit of revenge that characterised several comments about this release from prison. There was an attitude based on the belief that there are sins, crimes and mistakes that whoever commits them cannot be pardoned or redeemed. What does society gain from such an anti-Christian and anti-human attitude?

A society that does not treasure the gift of forgiveness is a poor society indeed.” (14/09/11)

Random thoughts on the media and the legal system

“During a TV programme, I once asked a lawyer whether he would even resort to a technicality to free a client that he was certain was guilty of paedophilia. He said yes. I thought that he misunderstood me, so I pushed the argument further. "Let us say that you are certain that your client has on more than one occasion abused children. You are sure that he abused the child that he is being accused of abusing. Let us say that there is a mistake in the way that the accusation is made. It is a minor point which does not affect the truth of the matter, i.e. that you client is a pedophile. Would you use that technical point to throw a paedophile on the streets where he can abuse more children?" The lawyer did not bat an eyelid while immediately answering "yes". He was not the only lawyer who answered yes when I posited that same question.” (06/09/11)

The tragedy in Somalia

“While we wine and dine millions are dying of hunger

While we are tanning ourselves on the beach, people are dying of hunger.

While we grumble of the excessive heat; squabble about the non-controversies that plague us; curse high prices in restaurants; complain about Arriva; opine that water and electricity bills are too expensive, follow the news in Libya, etc. PEOPLE ARE DYING OF HUNGER.

They have been dying of hunger for quite some time. Pope Benedict addressed the subject on consecutive Sundays in June and July. He made a strong appeal to the international community to urgently help the drought-stricken Horn of Africa.

"Innumerable people are fleeing from that tremendous famine in search of food and assistance. I hope the international community will increase its efforts to quickly send aid to our sorely tested brothers and sisters, among them many children. Our solidarity and the concrete assistance of all people of good will should not be lacking." (30/08/11)