I refer to Salvu Mallia’s article ‘Culture: Malta’s Cinderella abused by two ugly sisters’ (September 10).

An appreciation of his presentation of the Maltese way of life, culture and society in the programme Madwarna would not be out of place.

The only discordant note in the article was the assertion that “for centuries the Church kept the people of these islands in complete ignorance”. This inadvertently and unjustly shifts responsibility off the shoulders of the colonial administration.

We were at the time a poor island. Even though we were granted certain economic advantages, the  British government was very economical in fostering our technical, cultural and political progress.

This was undertaken in earnest by the Church, in the form of the university, the first hospitals and various institutes. With limited financial resources at its disposal, the Church did its best to solve the social problems of the island. The various guilds (confraternities) were actually the forerunners of the present trade unions.

At one time, the Church was also instrumental in easing the housing problem and helping emigration. Indeed, it was a pioneer in the evolutionary, not revolutionary, development of Malta.

These ideas were taken from Herbert Ganado’s essay “Allura maħniex moderni!”.

Facts are sacred.