In his apostolic letter on the call to holiness in today’s world, Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis wrote: “Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development.”

Is this not what the statement by the Maltese bishops on the Bill that amends the Embryo Protection Act is saying?

My humble appeal, like those of our bishops, is that those who are “responsible for this Bill truly protect life and human dignity and do nothing that will undermine the rights and wellbeing of the child”.