As was to be expected, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech was rubbished again in the media. Mgr Grech is singled out with such indignation because he touches the neuralgic issues that are rapidly undermining what is left of our Christian heritage.

Too many Maltese Catholics seem to have become ‘museum piece Christians’

The Bishop of Gozo seems to be a lone voice speaking out clearly on the topics that are now being targeted by the increasingly strident elements in our society that are hell bent on eradicating the values that underpinned our social framework.

Now that divorce has been forced through, Malta has to brace itself for the next onslaughts on traditional values that have always upheld the family and life.

At present, abetted by agencies overseas, gay marriage and abortion are in their gun sights. Unsurprisingly, Bishop Grech was misquoted and misinterpreted. One has only to scan the blogs to realise the virulent anti-Catholic barrage that he has to put up with.

Unfortunately, even the Malta Confederation of Women’s organisation failed to check the facts and just parroted the concerns of the media that falsely claimed that the Bishop of Gozo had said that the life of an unborn child is more important than that of the mother.

It is disappointing, to put it mildly, that the Church public relations office did not immediately react to the distortion of the bishop’s statements on the issue. The Church PR seems to be enjoying an undeserved rest and the Catholic faithful wait in hope for the situation to be rectified.

Yet, thankfully, the brazenness and dishonesty of the International Commission of Jurists as well as sections of the media did not go unchallenged.

In the TV breakfast programme of May 20, hosted by Pierre Portelli and lawyer Joe Mifsud, Miriam Sciberras gave a five-star performance defending Bishop Grech’s stand and Malta’s rightful condemnation of abortion.

In the morning programme, Bishop Grech was graciously given the opportunity to directly clarify his position and also to express his concerns.

Tellingly, Mifsud castigated those journalists who rely on secondary sources when reporting facts. Professional journalism demands that news reporters get their facts right and that there should be a clear distinction between facts and comment.

It was also most refreshing to see Nancy Grech’s eloquent defence of the defenceless in her excellent article that appeared on Times of Malta on March 30.

With sparkling wit, Grech quotes G.K. Chesterton with ease and relevance, tearing to ribbons the dishonest portrayal by the media of what the Bishop of Gozo had actually said about the issue of life-threatening medical conditions in pregnant mothers.

Grech shares Sciberras’ contempt for the International Commission of Jurists as she rightly lambasts them for trying to impose abortion legislation on Malta and, worse still, making ridiculous and unfounded allegations on inhuman treatment, cruelty and torture.

It is of great concern that a body composed of 60 or so supposedly eminent jurists should peddle abortion and, worse still, make false allegations. They bring into disrepute the high calling of a profession that is expected to defend human rights and not undermine them. Sadly, this is not an odd aberration that happens from time to time. Key international agencies at the highest levels are promoting a vigorous agenda favouring abortion. And it seems that this disgraceful pressure is having effect on key Irish politicians who have buckled under and who now, against the interests of society, are allowing legal loopholes to permit abortion in Ireland.

Meanwhile, here in Malta, for too long, too many Maltese Catholics seem to deserve the admonishment of Pope Francis when he refers to those of the faithful for being “museum piece Christians”. In Maltese we disparagingly refer to them as fidili, which is the counterfeit of fedeli where spineless inertia is misplaced for faithfulness.

We can use various other comparisons along these lines where the expression of faith is a travesty of the real thing.

Too many of us confuse prudence with paralysis, sanctity with being sanctimonious, conviction with convention, etc.

Let us hope that we will wake up and rally against these insidious attempts to further undermine our Catholic culture and that our Church leaders will ensure that vile attempts to twist and distort their pronouncements will be nipped in the bud.