I feel puzzled with the reasons given by Ingram Bondin in his contribution Why I Want To Leave The Catholic Church (September 8). Mr Bondin is upset because “the Church... competes to affect public policy which in turn affects all citizens”.

The Church, as an institution founded by Christ, has its specific mission and I don’t see why she should be impeded from propagating her mission. Every institution has its own mission statement and most regulations are formulated to be able to carry out most effectively that mission statement. Like all other pressure groups the Church affects public policy which might in turn affect all citizens as Mr Bondin contends.

Any individual or institution may affect public policy, hopefully, for the good of the whole society.

Irrespective of who is affecting whom the fact that society abides by certain mores and regulations that work for the common good should be praised and encouraged. This is the reason why we have all sorts of awards, both on the international and national level, that are being awarded to individuals and institutions for the good that they have conveyed to society at large. The Nobel Prizes in various fields are typical examples.

That decisions taken by the state are influenced by the teachings of the Church does in no way mean that the state is submissive to the Church as Mr Bondin argues. If what the state decides is being approved by the teachings of the Church it only goes to confirm that the teachings of the Church are for the common good. The fact that the state abides by certain values that Mr Bondin terms as “Catholic morality” is not because such values are Catholic but because they are for the good of the whole human person. Good moral values are Catholic because they are good and not good because they are Catholic.

Let us do our best to help each other remove certain prejudices. Let us imbibe what is good from any individual or institution. Let us, as an inclusive society, accept the good that is being transmitted by individuals and groups alike whatever their colour, creed or race but let us admit that the Church in Malta, in spite of her shortcomings, has contributed to the welfare of each individual and society at large. Let us look at the Church as an asset that helps Maltese society go on progressing as a society built on sound, moral values.

It is today more than ever that we need the Church to speak against secularism. A secular state that tends to remove the concept of God from society or camouflage it to propagate the individual would lead to a selfish society where each individual or group of individuals want to assert themselves and their rights to the detriment of society at large.