Mgr Scicluna.

The Armier boathouses and the Magħtab dumpsite are monuments to the inability of the country’s political class to promote a civic sense among the people, according to Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna.

He said the politicians failed to foster an attitude whereby people would not only consider their own or their party’s interest, mentioning the Armier boathouses and the waste mountain at Magħtab, which emits harmful gases, as examples.

“We cannot blame anyone for it because it [Magħtab dumpsite] was created by us following our independence 50 years ago,” he wrote on the online portal Newsbook.

He said the time when the country could blame colonial rulers for all things negative was long gone. Independence meant freedom from colonial rule but not necessarily freedom from a colonial mentality, he added.

Mgr Scicluna said the independence anniversary should serve as an invitation to look to the future with a strong civic sense, working to safeguard the democracy that was essential to have a strong government and Opposition. “It is an invitation for us to make an examination of conscience. We should be a nation that does not only consider its own personal interests and measure each and every cost,” he said.

It is an invitation for us to make an examination of conscience

“Our civic sense must also tie in with our great love for these islands and their future,” he said.

Civic sense should lead people to behave more responsibly with respect to the State. “This is the true expression of an independent mentality and not of a post-colonial mentality,” Mgr Scicluna added.

He referred to independence monuments that pointed to “beautiful and positive” aspects of the country’s history, among them the University of Malta.