The Church's Environment Commission (KA) said today that it hoped that Pope Benedict's visit to Malta would initiate a renewed national commitment towards ensuring that integral human development becomes an inherent theme in all of Malta's development plans and policies.
In a wide-ranging statement, the commission said the papal visit entailed a lot of preparation as had been recently witnessed in various places all over the island.
"This is good, just and fitting for this great occasion. Furthermore, the KA is aware that none of us will want to give the impression that the Maltese community still harbours a tendency of whitewashing over (rather than resolving) our problems just to put up a good show.
"All of us would agree that keeping up appearances rather than ensuring a sustained good quality of our everyday life, is a non-starter," the commission said.
It hoped that amid the celebration that such a visit rightfully deserved, "we will not miss the wood for the trees ... and will focus more on the pastoral scope of the visit rather than the welcome, more on the Pope's teachings rather than on his office."
The commission underlined the Pope's teachings and said that it was rather baffling that while feeling inclined to vociferously discredit the Church's teachings because of its highly publicized imperfections, certain individuals did not bat an eyelid over equally distressing cases of abuse of the human dignity: abortion, extreme poverty, hunger, displaced workers and refugees, unequal distribution of resources and environmental degradation.
It pointed out that Pope Benedict had affirmed that the cause of the ecological crisis was ultimately a moral crisis: a brutal economy that put profit above everything else, a thwarted perception of resource management and a general disregard for human welfare.
"Scientific and technological advances have provided temporary relief from the symptoms of this crisis, but the true solution lies in the affirmation of the values laid out in the teachings of the risen Christ who has redeemed all of creation."
The commission said that its inception, it had been active in initiating a reflective public discussion based on the principles that have now been embodied in Pope Benedict's writings. KA's statements focused on various issues concerning the sustainability of our lifestyles and our use of natural resources, such as land, sea, special habitats, wildlife, energy and fresh water.
"All sectors of our society, including the local Church itself, should strive to do their part in solving this (as well as other environmental sustainability issues) and therefore in promoting a just society that promotes integral human development," the commission said.