Monday, January 03, 2011

Values have major role to play in 2011’s ‘tough decisions’

The country’s core values had role to play as Malta faced a year where “tough decisions” that impact on the family might be taken, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

In a veiled reference to a potential decision on whether to legalise divorce in 2011, Dr Gonzi said that on various occasions the country faced decisions which “need genuine thought” for the country’s common good.

Speaking during the traditional New Year’s greetings at the Archbishop’s Palace in Valletta, the Prime Minister said 2011 could be a determining year for decisions guided by values built around the common good.

The annual visit to the country’s bishops went beyond tradition, Dr Gonzi said, as it was the religious leaders who provided moral guidance to the country and its leaders.

However, he said: “We lead a government, not the Church, and we lead according to the common good.”

Labour leader Joseph Muscat also referred to the divorce debate in his respective visits to the Archbishop and the President, saying that 2011 could be the year in which the country would see a new civil right being introduced.

“I hope this year these discussions are carried out constructively, while decisions are taken freely and according to one’s conscience,” Dr Muscat said.

Archbishop Paul Cremona based his address on the letter written by Pope Benedict XVI at the start of the new year, where he spoke of religious freedom.

Only yesterday, a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt, was bombed, killing at least 21 people and injuring 43.

Mgr Cremona said “religious freedom is generally understood as being given the physical space in which to express your beliefs. In Malta we do not have a problem in this regard, but upon reflection, are believers being given the moral space in which to express their beliefs properly?”

Quoting the Pope, the Archbishop said it was inconceivable that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves – their faith – in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights.

He added that religion should not be marginalised and should instead be seen as an active force for good and a valid reason for political motivation.

President George Abela said that in 2011, designated as the European year for voluntary work, he was planning to introduce an award for volunteers and voluntary organisations to recognise this important sector of society.

SIC: TOM/INT'L