Albert Cilia-Vincenti of Attard writes:
Ray Azzopardi (‘Religion and national identity’, October 5) seems to equate Catholicism with national identity. For a start, this claim is ethno-geographically incorrect because, in our part of the world, parts of central and the whole of southern Europe are nominally predominantly Catholic, so Catholicism is not peculiar to Malta. We imported the idolatry version (religious festas) of Christianity from Sicily (which originated in Inquisitorial Spain).
A Good Friday procession in Vittoriosa. File photo: Matthew MirabelliIn a liberal secular European country of the 21st century, one would expect the rights of minorities to be respected. So, if I happened to be a Maltese Jew, Muslim, Hindu or simply doubtful of the credibility of any religion, my Maltese identity would have nothing to do with a blind belief in Catholicism.
One needs to remember that China’s Confucius recommended “do not do to others what you don’t want others to do to you” as a rule for life, which, essentially, encompasses both the 10 Commandments of the Jewish Old Testament and the narratives of the Christian New Testament. This means atheists may be as ethically correct as religious fanatics.
To an awkward question, “can atheists go to heaven?”, Pope Francis had replied: “Atheists are more likely to go to heaven than employers who mistreat their employees.”
These points should also provide an answer to Pope Benedict’s question as quoted by Azzopardi: “Where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be found?” Not necessarily in Catholicism.
Integrity has nothing to do with which religious belief one belongs to. There is no evidence, for example, that there is less crime in Catholic regions than in Protestant ones. Also, audits consistently claim Scandinavians (Denmark, in particular) are overall happier than southern Europeans, the reason usually quoted is the perception of level of inequality (taxation and social welfare) being significantly less in these northern than in southern European countries.
Ethical foundation for political choices does not, therefore, depend exclusively on Catholicism, or Christianity for that matter.
Words count
Dennis Fitzgerald of Melbourne, Australia writes:
An Australian journalist questioned US President Donald Trump about his “business activity” and was promptly shut down.
Later, the official White House account described the reporter as “a rude foreign Fake News loser”. Such is the eloquence and sophistication of both the US president and the administration’s official online voice.
Much of this presidency will likely be defined – and remembered – by words like “rude”, “fake” and “loser”. How these and other terms, whether derogatory or, less commonly, complimentary, are used is up to the reader.
San Anton Gardens
Marthese Galea of Balzan writes:
The other day, a Saturday, I decided to take my two-year-old granddaughter to San Anton Gardens. Upon arrival at 4.40pm, we found the gate closed and padlocked. There was also a foreign couple, possibly tourists, who, like me, were disappointed as they arrived thinking they would find the place open.
May I suggest that San Anton Gardens remain open for another hour at least till we change to wintertime. October afternoons in Malta are still so warm and we can still make the best of the lovely weather.
With so few opportunities to take our children out for fresh air in Malta and so little concrete action despite all the talk, let us make the most of what we do have – for the sake of our little ones.