Archbishop Charles J Scicluna and Imam Mohamed El Sadi this evening jointly took part in a wreath laying ceremony to mark the 450th anniversary of the Great Siege in Valletta.

They addressed the distinguished guests at the foot of the Great Siege Monument in Republic Street and laid flowers along with, among others, the Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

The Imam, who was the first to deliver his speech, underscored that in any religion, there is no war that is 'holy' and the only outcome of war is destruction and death.

Mgr Scicluna said the Great Siege battle of 1565 was a struggle against enslavement as obscurantism – it was against the enemies of true freedom.

Peace, he said, is God’s dream, his plan for humanity, for history, for all creation.

"And it is a plan which always meets opposition from men and from the evil one. Even in our time, the desire for peace and the commitment to build peace collide against the reality of many armed conflicts presently affecting our world. They are a kind of third world war being fought piecemeal and, in the context of global communications, we sense an atmosphere of war.

"Some wish to incite and foment this atmosphere deliberately, mainly those who want conflict between different cultures and societies, and those who speculate on wars for the purpose of selling arms. But war means children, women and the elderly in refugee camps; it means forced displacement of peoples; it means destroyed houses, streets and factories; it means, above all, countless shattered lives. You know this well, having experienced it here: how much suffering, how much destruction, how much pain! Today, dear brothers and sisters, the cry of God’s people goes up once again from this city, the cry of all men and women of good will: war never again!"