Society cannot give in to a culture where truth is no longer regarded as a value, be it in personal relationships or in governance, Archbishop Charles Scicluna warned.

The Archbishop made the comments in a homily during mass held to celebrate Christ the King at the Santa Venera parish church, insisting that the value of truth, together with that of justice and love were crucial in ensuring the functioning of a society.

“Those who are not with the value of truth are with lies. We need truth, stability and transparency in governance but first, we must also live with these values ourselves. We cannot just point fingers at others,” Mgr Scicluna told those present.

Referring to abortion and euthanasia, which made headlines this year as groups in favour of both called for debates on the matter, the Archbishop insisted that a culture that promotes life has to be defended.

“Let me be clear, we cannot accept that there is a choice between one baby and another. We cannot accept as a fundamental right someone making the choice over whether a baby is killed or not,” Mgr Scicluna said.

Similarly, nobody had the right to decide whether a terminally-patient should live or die, he said as he insisted that all acts of killing should be condemned.

“We condemn all acts of killing, especially that of innocent people, be it at the start of life, during or at the end,” he said.

The Archbishop also touched upon assisted reproduction, pointing out that the value of life was about more than simply “buying a seed from here and an egg from there”.

In his homily, Mgr Scicluna urged people not to resort to solving problems by fighting “like with like”, pointing out that a culture where everyone can speak their mind and express themselves without hurting others has to exist.