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