From Mr J. Schembri
“While surfing the net”, Mr C. J. Buttigieg (Satanic Verses) hit on a quotation without a source. Curiosity made me surf the net, and the only result landed me on the highly ethical website of Forum Zghazagh Laburisti, where pictures of private citizens are tossed around!
“We Christians can only be witnesses to Christ by our actions, not excluding our writings,” he continued.
On 29 January the Malta Star contributor wrote one of his highly “ethical” attacks on me, because I defended the right of freedom of expression of “one of your best columnists”, or should I say the best columnist in Malta; Daphne. (TMIS, 24 February) We have to admit that she provokes and challenges our ideas, just look at how many column inches were spent on her in today’s papers! Agreeing with everything she writes is something different.
In his “dignified” attack Mr Buttigieg used every trick in the MLP Book of Ethics to discredit me personally for defending “one of your best columnists”; he misquoted me, tried to censor me, attributed words to me which I never wrote, and conveniently forgot, or purposely did not quote from ALL my writings; then he put the cherry on the cake by insinuating that I am a hate-monger and gutter contributor.
Is this Mr Buttigieg’s definition of dignified Christian writing? Herbert Ganado must be turning in his grave.
In my letter to your paper (TMID, 27 February), I defended myself from this uncalled for savage attack, and subtly suggested to him that “if someone ‘slips’, all one has to do is apologise”.
It seems that apology is not in the MLP Book of Ethics. Or was he too busy attacking other victims on this and other papers?
In this last letter (Satanic Verses) he calls this “handful of gutter writers” with dignified name-calling, like: herd of swine, hypocrites, frustrated and unholy persons.
After his reconciliatory letter to Joe Martinelli (TMID, 14 February) and after today’s letter, where he tries in vain to wear the mantle of a highly ethical Christian writer, it makes me wonder whether he fell off a horse on his way to Damascus!
John Schembri
ZURRIEQ