Stop using online communication as a means to destroy people and incite hatred, the Archbishop has told bloggers.
“I'm warning those who are using blogs, those who use the internet to incite Maltese against other Maltese, to dig up dirt, to humiliate each other and create contempt – such instigation is madness,” Mgr Charles Scicluna said in a homily last Sunday to mark the feast of St Julian's and uploaded on the Curia website today.
“Whoever persists in this manner will have to pay his dues in front of God,” he said, amid mounting criticism that certain political bloggers were constantly crossing the line of decency.
The outspoken archbishop used the 125th anniversary of St Julian’s to underline the dangers of online hatred and the destruction of the environment.
The destruction of the environment is the biggest tragedy of our times
“By destroying the environment, we're destroying ourselves. The destruction of the environment is the biggest tragedy of our times, including our country.”
Citing the story of St Julian, Mgr Scicluna said “there were no deer in Malta because they would be killed off… because we kill everything that flies, that walks…
He urged the congregation to reflect on the consequences of polluting the sea to the extent that we cannot swim in it, destroying an environment to the extent that we cannot breathe in it, and the costs of destroy ing the urban heritage.
Mgr Scicluna has been a vocal critic of rampant construction, especially recently after the Planning Authority gave the nod to skyscrapers in Sliema and Mrieħel.
He underlined the irony that neighbouring Paceville was named for the surrounding peace at the time. Today, the place has turned into a nightlife mecca where money is more important than the security of our children.
“Can we ever forget the scene of those youths falling over each other on the glass stairs outside a nightclub? What have we done since? How long will we continue hearing about murders, incidents of aggression, drugs and prostitution in Paceville?”
It was pointless just harking to the beauty of the past when we can dictate our present and future. Quality of life should not be dictated by money, the archbishop concluded.