It was 40 years ago (1969) when John Lennon was gaining a new level of international notoriety by staging his Bed-In- honeymoon with his second wife, Yoko Ono. Many people were baffled by this gimmicky initiative and a reporter asked him what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed in front of the world cameras. He answered spontaneously (as usual): "All we are saying is give peace a chance".
This catchy phrase was so heartfelt that it ended up as the basis of the song-anthem of the anti-war movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
All we are saying is give peace a chance... But were the world leaders listening? Are they listening now?
Can we, the common citizens of the world, tune in on this simple but heartfelt phrase and listen? Judging by the number of wars or state of conflict in so many different countries throughout the globe... sure not.
And, yet, the chorus of people insisting that everyone should "give peace a chance" and that the "war is over if we want to" has not diminished over the years. Indeed, it has reached a reverberating crescendo in our time, has been joined at least by the last two Popes and has been given a new dimension. To give peace a chance, you must also give our planet a chance.
This powerful idea is indeed the central theme of none other than Benedict XVI's message for the Catholic Church's annual World Day of Peace on January 1. This 3,800-word document is in fact entitled: If You Want To Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation.
The Peace Laboratory wishes to reiterate such a simple but strong message and address it to the citizens of Malta. Planet Earth, with all its environmental and life-sustaining resources and systems, needs to be preserved and cared for. To Christians and Catholics, the natural environment is God's creation and God's gift to humankind. It is essential, not only for our own survival as a species, but environmental justice is also essential for world peace.
"Man's inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development - wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism and violations of human rights. Yet, no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect - if not downright misuse - of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us."
The Pope argues that economic development must include safeguards for the environment, even if they are costly, and he calls for "a worldwide redistribution of energy resources, so that countries lacking those resources can have access to them".
Moreover, "technologically-advanced societies must be prepared to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving its efficiency".
On a personal level, the Pope is calling for individual conversion and for adoption of more "sober lifestyles" and for personal sacrifices as the heart of true environmentalism are classically conservative themes.
Surely, if we heed and apply this message in practice, we would not be witnessing the degradation of our natural resources in Malta and Gozo, such as the fast disappearing ground water resources, the loss of land to speculators and the rampant disregard to stated and official national planning policy documents and guidelines. Surely, we would all be myopic not to realise that such a dire state of local "environmental injustice" has been bred from greed and disregard to the common good and to social justice. And there can be no peace of mind, nor respect for our quality of life, if we fail "to convert" for the year(s) to come.
As the Pontiff writes: "Humanity needs a profound cultural renewal; it needs to rediscover those values which can serve as the solid basis for building a brighter future for all.
"Our present crises - be they economic, food-related, environmental or social - are ultimately also moral crises and all of them are interrelated.
"They require us to rethink the path which we are travelling together. Specifically, they call for a lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarity, with new rules and forms of engagement, one which focuses confidently and courageously on strategies that actually work, while decisively rejecting those that have failed."
Agreed? Can we learn to give peace a chance? Can we learn (in time, and before it is too late) to give the natural environment of these small islands one last chance? Is this too utopian? Maybe, but miracles can happen, even in our lifetime.
Fr Mintoff is director of The Peace Laboratory.