In his latest post, fellow blogger Fr Joe Borg chose to illustrate some mysterious ‘point’ by using a photo of a bare-butted man taken at a private party.

No-one would have bat an eyelid had it been a layperson writing the post. Photos of naked butts are a dime a dozen these days, hardly shocking. But when placed in context – the blogger is a priest who goes on to give a fire and brimstone sermon about the Maltese daring to party on Good Friday – then yes,  I find the gentleman’s approach inappropriate and, some might even say, prurient.

The whole point of Fr Borg’s blog appears to be an exhortation for his flock to beware of ‘such evils’.  His decision to draw attention to what went on at a private event – which, incidentally, is none of his business  –  is a bit as though a religion teacher distributed a porn magazine in class to explain why Jesus doesn't like pornography.

Baffling.

Less charitable souls than I might conclude that his use of the photo is attributable to a desire to shock, to inject sensationalism where there is none. Streaking happens at a multitude of events from football matches to fashion shows and people usually have a laugh and move on.

In other words: someone got drunk at a part and stripped. Big whoop. What usually happens in such cases is security intervenes with a blanket and some eye-rolling and two seconds later the incident is forgotten.

Given all this, I can't help but insist with my question. What is the reader supposed to take from it all? Unfortunately I can only find one underlying message in Fr Borg's whole post: people partied and drank on Good Friday! Why is such a thing allowed to happen?

I hardly need add that this is a dangerous line of thought indeed.

Fr Borg tries to hide this message under a variety of flimsy reasons, mentioning "noise and complaints by the residents". Let us not be disingenuous here. Residents do not only get irate about noise and traffic when it is related to parties on Good Friday. They get just as  irate when woken up by petards in the early hours on a Saturday morning, or when any multitude of roads are closed in multiple towns and villages over the summer period to accommodate processions and band marches.

Chaotic traffic and loud noise annoys everyone, whether it's due to a party at a private club or to the parish church accepting a whole new level of tbaħrid in the main piazza, complete with bare chests and butt cracks on show (but that's okay, maybe because said butts tend to be saggy, unlike the one in the photo).

What are we going to do about all these inconveniences created by every single village festa over every single summer weekend? Are we to outlaw both? 

Of course not.  I'd say live and let live and keep both. I don't like to stop people from having fun just because I’m not interested in taking part. But for a priest to criticise the one and not the other is a stunning case of double standards.

The other complaint seems to be that this private party was serving 'alcohol aplenty' on Good Friday. Last I checked, drinking alcohol on Good Friday is perfectly legal. Fr Borg seems to suggest that he would prefer a Ramadan-style imposition by the state, forcing us to observe Good Friday traditions, whether we like it or not. Happily, he is unlikely to find anyone to support that particular cause.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that religion is a personal matter. If you want to get silly drunk on Good Friday, then that is certainly no blogger’s business. And if you want to spend it in prayer and contemplation no-one will raise an eyebrow either because, guess what... It's no one's business but yours.

But please don't preach religion at me from your pulpit and then serve me a photo of a naked man with your sermon. Because you can hardly blame me then, if I find it suspect and distasteful.