Harmony was being threatened clouding relationships which once used to sustain the family, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Bishop Mario Grech said in a pastoral letter for advent.

The bishops said that in the name of progress and freedom the dignity of the human being was very often easily vilified in a culture where everything was measured according to efficiency and utility.

“The concept of unrestrained individual freedom is turning ever more into violence in society, also in domestic violence.

“The search for satisfaction is leading to an emptiness which many are trying to fill by resorting to drugs, alcohol and gambling.”

The bishops said that the wonderful achievements made in the area of information technology also came to the point of creating problems for the respect of the person, and to the degradation, especially of women, through pornography.

“These are all symptoms that, together with the good that exists in our society, there is also serious trouble.

“Many parents are worried and alarmed because all this presents a threat to the future of their children. We share their preoccupation.

“However, we are convinced that the country expects direction in this area and also cooperation from those of good will before it is too late.”

God, the bishops said, was no longer relevant in many people’s lives. The ideology of progress that excluded God could work against the human being.

“We saw this recently when, due to exaggerated greed, the world entered an economic crisis whose effects can still be seen especially on the vulnerable and the poor.”

The bishops wished the people the rediscovery of God.

“Let us not end up searching for God only when we are with our back against the wall during suffering or in the face of death.

“In all our situations, whoever we are, all of us need to search for this God because it is only he who can give us true freedom and full dignity to be able to plan our future with the decisions of everyday life," they said.