Clerics’ duty to speak out on moral issues affected by politics should not be mis-construed as Church interference, Archbishop Paul Cremona said yesterday.
“We are here to help our politicians, not to interfere. The Church is not interested in imposing its views on anyone. But it has a moral duty to pass its ideology onto others. Unfortunately, sometimes whenever we speak out, people think we’re trying to interfere,” he said.
The Archbishop spoke while receiving dignitaries at his Valletta palace for the customary New Year’s Day exchange of greetings, yesterday.
Mgr Cremona, together with Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna and Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca, soaked in the first rays of the new year’s sunshine as they ambled down Archbishop’s Street from St George’s Square, wished passers-by a happy new year as they walked past.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his Cabinet ministers followed and, after a warm exchange of greetings, Dr Gonzi noted that 2013 was lining up to be a “year of serious choices” for Malta. He urged people not to be blinded by their differences.
“Malta is like a beautiful rainbow and a rainbow is not made up of just one colour. Even if people believe different things – or don’t believe anything at all – we are all in this together and we have to ensure no one is left behind,” he said.
Opposition leader Joseph Muscat’s brief, cordial address also touched upon a unifying theme. Life would go on for all as one country, regardless of political choices, he said.
“We have some very big challenges ahead, challenges we can only overcome if we all work together,” Dr Muscat said.
He had words of praise for the Church’s focus on social justice, which, he said, the Labour Party shared, and network of schools, which the PL leader described as an “integral” part of Malta’s educa-tion system.
For Speaker Michael Frendo, who called on the Archbishop together with a group of MPs from either side of the House, the event was an opportunity to reflect on the important role the Church played within Maltese society.
Dr Frendo agreed with Mgr Cremona’s assertion that the Church had both a right and a duty to speak out.
The role of Speaker, he said, had imbued in him an even greater appreciation for the important balancing act that existed between Church and State.
Dr Frendo and the MPs were followed by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and a coterie of magistrates and judges, with the Chief Justice publicly acknowledging the trying time the judicial class was going through (see separate story).
A string of other dignitaries, not least President George Abela, Attorney General Peter Grech and Armed Forces of Malta commander Martin Xuereb also dropped by to pay their respects to the Maltese Church top brass.