The ‘Welcome’ blurb on the website of Mount St Joseph Retreat House reads: “Mount St Joseph Retreat House is an invitation to leave the fast pace of modern life and to enter into a haven of peace and quiet. Whether it is for a day of prayerful meditation or for a longer time of reflection and soul searching, Mount St Joseph is a place where you can stop to unwind and enter into those rare moments of blissful solitude.”
The Jesuits have been running this place for half a century and the many thousands who have walked through its gates can well testify to the wonderful experience they had there as they shared their time with others in the silence of the retreats. Why would anyone wish to do anything that can rob so many of such a precious oasis of peace and quiet, away from all the noise that has come to characterise modern life?
Yet, this is exactly what could happen to Mount St Joseph if a plan for a shooting range at a disused military installation in the vicinity is approved.
It would seem that attempts are being made to push through new projects, of whatever kind, too rashly, if not haphazardly, without due consideration being given to the environment.
Political decision-makers appear to be running faster than the guardians of the island’s heritage. If space is restricted, which it is in this minuscule island, then impact assessments become even more important so that no damage is done.
However, it looks as if the government is even prepared, as in the case of the Marsascala university project, to allow development outside of the development zone. Is this the beginning of what was touted as an intention to tweak development boundaries? If it is, the government ought to think again because the environment lobby is getting increasingly stronger. Any attempt at trying to soften a bad decision by offering a quid pro quo, as the government is doing in the case of the university project through its plan to build a natural park, will backfire because environment lovers can easily see through the ruse.
In the same way that a prime site in Marsascala should not be sacrificed for the building of a university, all care should be taken to ensure that Mount St Joseph, in Tarġa Gap, Mosta is not robbed of its primary asset – silence.
The Jesuits have asked the government to ditch the proposed shooting range project as it would undermine the most important attraction of the retreat house. The Jesuit Provincial, Fr Patrick Magro, argues in defence of their opposition to the project that no compromise could be found between the sound of firearms and silence.
Apparently, at first an interested party had in mind using the site for a horse riding school. The Jesuits would not have objected to this but they are rightly all out against a shooting range.
Hopefully, there is still time to reverse the plan. Planning Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon was quoted as saying that no decision had been made and that, although the preferred offer had been identified, they were still negotiating the final contract.
An online petition has been launched in support of the stand against the plan and the Jesuits are holding a prayer meeting tomorrow – ‘The gift of silence’. As architect Richard England put it so well, the last thing Mount St Joseph needs is the sound of shooting in the vicinity.