My WhatsApp exchange with Daphne on April 22 at 8.46pm went like this: “Thank you Daphne! John 15:13 ‘Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends.’ May God protect you and bless you for your incredible courage and your love.”
She replied on April 23 at 12.30am, less than four hours later: “How nice of you, Margaret. Thank you for your kindness. Goodnight.”
Another, a few days later: “Keeping a country safe is the first duty of a Prime Minister. Theresa May said this today.” To which she replied: “So true!”
On May 2: “Ejja Daphne! Keep your courage going strong! We can move mountains with enough faith: praying for you!” One minute later I received yet another “Thank you.”
There were many other posts, with links of common interest. Then finally: “Daphne, thank you for giving it your all. No matter what is said about you, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.” And after three minutes, another thank you.
I do not deny that I am a radical follower of Jesus... and she knew it. In fact, she told me she thought I was OTT (over the top). It didn’t bother me at all. We are, after all, a nation of OTTs, all of us in different ways.
Our thought patterns diverged, but there was mutual respect.
Like everyone else, I have been reading and watching whatever is put up for us. Something inside me will not let me rest from this tsunami of thoughts about Daphne and the situation in Malta. Like everyone, I am sad and full of questions.
I am looking at the situation in the light of my own make-up, as one who tries to see things from the angle of faith, fully aware that in a secular state this can irritate many, but nevertheless we cannot deny where we are coming from.
Integrity is lost with compromise, when compromise seeks personal advantage
The Catholic faith is our identity as Maltese purely because we inherited it and it is in our genes, because the majority of us are baptised and therefore we are marked, just as someone who is identified by their tattoos, except that our mark is not visible on the skin.
Whether you have genuinely lost your faith or whether you have just shelved it for a while because it is incompatible with your lifestyle and gets in your way, whether you think you can balance your life to stay in but only just, we, all of us, cannot deny that we are one family with the same origins, customs, history and national pride.
We love Malta and we want Malta to be loved by all those who visit us and all those who know us. Our reputation counts, and we want to make our mark in a positive way as a nation.
Daphne fought for this and gave her life for it. Daphne spent her whole career searching for the truth and exposing it, whether it was uncomfortable, indigestible or embarrassing. She was passionate and without limits about exposing lies; she did not tolerate hypocrites. For the sake of truth let us admit that our departure from the Truth began with the departure of our faith-based laws when we started introducing laws that were no longer compatible with our faith.
It was a decision taken bearing in mind all those who by now had left the faith, and it was considered a kindness to them in the circumstances. It was a decision to embrace progress at all costs.
What started with good intentions started to open doors and gates that cannot be closed now. But have we lost our integrity on the way? We need to ask these uncomfortable questions. Integrity is lost with compromise, when compromise seeks personal advantage. On the larger scale of things, our integrity as a nation is also lost for the sake of wealth and power at all costs.
Jesus’s words: “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life” have a profound meaning for us Maltese, whose very history and foundations are built on these words.
This is my last post to you, Daphne: “I believe that you have now found the Truth you spent your life searching for.”
And I believe that her answer is: “Thank you, Margaret.”
Margaret Bianchi is a lay voluntary worker.