A greater concerted effort is required to engender a wider civic sense and not be constrained by party politics to become more capable of respecting the dignity of every person, irrespective of one’s colour, faith, social affiliation and sexual orientation, the bishops said this evening in their pastoral letter for lent.

Archbishop Paul Cremona, Gozo bishop Mario Grech and auxiliary bishop Charles Scicluna noted the recent ‘alarming’ increase in violence, which they said pointed to the fact that a web of organised crime may be prevalent in Malta.

They said there had also been a rise in domestic violence and brutal attacks on elderly persons, as well as other hostilities of all sorts which rendered family relations difficult.

“This is a source of concern. We have also heard about cases of corruption which are of an almost institutional nature. Without our noticing, this is eroding the moral fibre of our society and leads people to believe that there is nothing wrong with stealing, evading taxes, taking false oath in court, and so many other factors which we are reading about almost on a daily basis.

“This is not a beautiful picture, yet it is also a part of the real, holistic picture of our country. We should be troubled by all this; but instead of being scandalised and passing judgment, we should combine our efforts and do whatever is necessary, because we are all responsible for one another and for our country.”

The bishops said that the Maltese, as Christians, needed to question how their faith, which was still so prevalent in society, was being put into action.

“The Church feels wounded when society is ailing. She too feels the need for healing – the kind of healing which emanates from the mercy and grace of God, our creator and saviour. As the people of God, from time to time, we need to ask ourselves whether the faith which we profess and preach is actually being put into force; a force which, with God’s help, will enable us to overpower evil and educate towards a culture of honesty and integrity.

The worst sins in life were those which one did not feel guilty about, the bishops said adding that although God earnestly forgave all those who sought him humbly and contritely, “he is unable to forgive us if we close the door to our heart. He will continue to knock, but only we hold the key”.

The pastoral letter in full, in Maltese or English, may be read in the pdf links below.