Political leaders were happy to pose for photos and make "inspiring speeches" without giving any real consideration to the plight of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, Malta's bishops have said.
In a damning statement issued on Wednesday, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Bishop Mario Grech expressed horror at the unfolding tragedy of people dying "practically helplessly and without much general interest."
"While countries are busy discussing the Gross Domestic Product and disposable income, the risk persists that people in the periphery languish in poverty and are reduced to mere numbers in some computer," the bishops said, as they laid into politicians for their failure to save lives.
"We observe leaders wreathed in smiles busy posing for event photographs while throngs of people applaud inspiring speeches," they wrote. "It seems that this is where it ends."
The bishops had words of praise for NGOs conducting sea rescue missions across the Mediterranean, saying their valuable work had significantly diminished the dangers of crossing the sea for many.
Nevertheless, they cautioned, the tragedies of the worlds' poor were fast becoming "breaking news items that are quickly discarded in the dustbin of history".
The two clerics did not limit themselves to highlighting the political class' responsibility in calling for protection.
Society in general as well as the Church itself had a role to play, they said, quoting from Pope Francis' exhortation 'The Joy of the Gospel'.
"Any Church community, if it thinks it can comfortably go its own way without creative concern and effective cooperation in helping the poor to live with dignity and reaching out to everyone, will also risk breaking down, however much it may talk about social issues or criticise governments," the Pope had written in Evangelii Gaudium.
They welcomed news that the Italian Episcopal Conference would be launching a meeting which would bring together Catholic bishops from across the Mediterranean, saying they hoped the initiative would "rouse Europe to embrace the poor that are knocking on its doors".