I would like to add my name to the list of Għargħur parishioners who expressed support to the pastoral letter just issued by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech read out in churches on the feast of the birth of Our Lady.

The pastoral letter was very well worded and to the point and the government, which receives taxpayers’ money, should heed the bishops’ plea and urgently see what it can do to alleviate the hardship of the homeless. In this day and age, when Malta is experiencing such a sound economy, it is rather shameful to have people sleeping on pavements and/or in gardens.

The Church in Malta was always the first to take action when social problems cropped up.

God knows how many children and elderly people were cared for in Church homes, not to mention  Church schools.

And, if I am not mistaken, it was the Church in Malta, headed at the time by Archbishop Michael Gonzi, which had built the first social housing apartments at Blata l-Bajda named Rerum Novarum. It is the Church too that is providing accommodation for Gozitan students studying in Malta and who cannot afford the high rental rates they are being asked to pay.