The episcopal ordination of Mgr Carmelo Zammit, Bishop of Gibraltar, took place this morning at the cathedral in Mdina. 

The ceremony was headed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.  

He said the Diocese of Gibraltar is a remarkable place. In its history, tradition and location it is, in many ways, a microcosm of Europe with all the dramas, dangers and opportunities.  

"It is more important than ever for the Church in Europe, and therefore in Gibraltar, to proclaim and practice those values and qualities that lie at the heart of European civilisation. These are truly fundamental values, that underpin derived values such as democracy and individual freedom, the rule of law and tolerance, important as they are.

Photo: Photocity Valletta.

"We must live and proclaim deeper values: the inalienable dignity of the person, from conception to natural death; the equality in dignity of every person; the freedom to live and seek truth and love," the cardinal said.

"Flowing from these values come the duties of accountability, the importance of deferring pleasure, the readiness to serve and the sense of vocation in life, beyond profit and earthly inheritance.

"These values are not freestanding. They are not self-evident or self-justifying. Among us in Europe, they derive from their Judeo-Christian roots and they will be sustained only within the context of our beliefs about human nature, the purpose of life and society. It is our task to proclaim them and to remember other words of Ortega y Gasset that hatred is the one feeling which leads to the extinction these values." 

Photos: Photocity Valletta.