In the second of a two-part feature Anthony Manduca lists some of the comments and controversial statements made during interviews with The Sunday Times of Malta in 2016.

"This document is an evolution and tells divorced and remarried Catholics in certain cases that ‘you’re welcome back home and you can sit at the table’"

- Fr Kevin Schembri, Lecturer in Pastoral Theology, on Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, April 17.


"I hope I wasn’t brought in because I’m considered to be a vote-catcher"

- Manuel Mallia following his return to the Cabinet as Competitiveness Minister after he was sacked one and a half years earlier, May 15.


"I am increasingly becoming a leftist. People want a change. They want an alternative"

- Labour MEP Alfred Sant on the fact that Europeans are getting fed up with consensus politics, May 29.


"The Prime Minister told me he wants me to express my opinions, even if I rock the boat. And yes, I will rock the boat on issues"

- Environment Minister Jose Herrera on how he will be different to his cautious predecessor Leo Brincat, June 12.


"We are not talking about abortion at all. Here we are talking about discrimination"

- Lara Dimitrijevic, a member of the Women’s Rights Foundation which filed a judicial protest against the State demanding women be given access to the ‘morning-after pill’, June 19.


"Transport Malta is not even capable of running a bus lane"

- Sliema local councillor Michael Briguglio casting doubt on whether the transport watchdog was capable of managing the traffic in Sliema the wake of high-rise developments, June 26.


"As a doctor I am 100 per cent against euthanasia. As a politician, I am ready to listen"

- Labour Whip and chairman of Parliament’s Family Affairs Committee Godfrey Farrugia speaking about the request made to his committee by an ALS sufferer for euthanasia to be legalised, July 17.


"Today the general perspective of people [in the EU] is that enlargement would be another financial burden"

- European Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn speaking about expansion fatigue in the EU, July 24.


"If I cannot love life and cannot laugh anymore, just let me be. Aren’t we meant to live a full life and then depart?"

- Louise Vella, who has a motor neurone disease, on why people should be allowed to express their wish to die in a living will, July 31.


"The Church is a great ship. It moves slowly but surely"

- Archbishop Charles Scicluna, September 4.


"Under me the party was not financed by the Gasans or the Tumases [Fenech] of this world"

- PN leader Simon Busuttil on his party’s independence from businessmen, September 11.


"With hindsight, I think I should have sent my memo to the chairman and secretary"

- ERA chairman Victor Axiak on the fact that he only sent his opinion on the controversial Townsquare and Mrieħel high-rise projects to one member of the Planning Authority, September 18.


"We have a very clear conscience"

- Entrepreneur Joe Gasan defending his controversial Townsquare and Mrieħel projects and denying any pre-election deals, October 2.


"I’ve been working with the UN since 2000, and I’ve never seen so many crises happening at the same time"

- Leila Zerrougui, special UN Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on the bleak global situation, October 9.


"We are dealing with humans not categories"

- Newly-appointed Refugee Commissioner Martine Cassar speaking about her guiding principles in deciding which migrants qualify for protection, October 30.


"I see my role as an icebreaker – in looking for cracks to appear in previously held rigid positions – and exploiting this in the interest of a potential political solution"

- EU foreign policy chief Federica Morgherini on her attempts to find a diplomatic solution in Syria, November 6.


"The way forward is not to shoot down every government initiative but to build on the positive achievements"

- Shadow economy minister Claudio Grech, November 27.


"My mother taught me mercy. But when they tortured us, raped us, they showed no mercy at all. We cannot forgive them for what they did. Those crimes are unforgivable"

- Nadia Murad, a Yazidi, detailing the horrors of life under Islamic State, December 18.

 

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.