A priest used a sermon to mark the feast of St Paul to warn about the growing racist sentiment growing in Malta. 

Rev Fr Victor Paul Farrugia asked a packed congregation yesterday whether Malta would really welcome St Paul the way our ancestors did in AD60.

"It's horrifying to read certain things in the papers, in the social media, especially when they’re written by people who pretend to be Christian. How can we say we love God, and each other, and then we don’t love our brothers?

"We’ve seen so many people drown in the Mediterranean, it’s heart-breaking. There were numbers instead of names on the coffins of some of the migrants. Where’s the dignity? Are we real Christians or do we present to be Christians on certain days?"

Fr Farrugia said while the Maltese were welcoming they cannot discriminate because of skin colour and religion.

"We can't keep using such disparaging language towards our brothers who have already been through so much."

The feast of St Paul resumes in Valletta today afternoon.