Jesuit Provincial Fr Patrick Magro has rebutted claims made by the president of the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters (AMACS), Stephen Petroni, who claimed when interviewed by this paper that the Jesuits’ arguments against the proposed shooting range on the outskirts of Mosta were based on religion.
Fr Magro said the Jesuits have stated that from the very beginning of their appeal defending the silent atmosphere offered by Mount St Joseph to the public, every comment they have voiced on behalf of the Maltese public has been based on facts.
“The appeal we are making to protect the therapeutic silence offered by Mount St Joseph is being made to protect the rights of the Maltese people to have a place which offers silence, be it for religious, spiritual, psychological, physical, decision-making and leisure or relaxation purposes, so important for the wellbeing of all, be they believers of any denomination or non-believers,” he said.
He continued: “From the very first moment when we heard Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon declare that the Government is very close to signing a 45-year lease agreement with U-Group, a Russian company, to make available the government owned land and nissen huts for development into a shooting range, our concerns and appeals have been based on well researched facts regarding recommended distances from residences and roads, pollution, ODZ land, and other international shooting range policies which show that this shooting range complex is being proposed in the wrong location.”
In yesterday’s interview, Mr Petroni claimed that he and his wife have suffered personal attacks for their support of the range and also commented on the bullet and threatening note sent to the Jesuit fathers, claiming they jumped on that incident to try and make themselves look like the victims’.
“We have no need to play the victim,” Fr Magro said. “Although investigations are underway, nobody knows who issued the threat, and Mr Petroni’s interview comment that the bullet was Russian is news to us, however that does not necessarily give any more clues.”
We are aware that there is a clear power differential here. We are fighting on behalf of the Maltese people in defence of a place that offers everybody an atmosphere conducive to prayer and silent reflection. Mr Petroni is fighting to see the shooting range built regardless of the repercussions and disturbance imposed on others. He has the backing of the Government, the shooters (although not all shooters agree with this proposed location), the prospective of great commercial gain and the backing of a powerful Russian investor.”
In reaction to a claim by Mr Petroni that the Jesuits were pressuring parents of schoolchildren to sign a petition to save the silence at Mount St Joseph, Fr Magro said: “This is not true. The petition, initiated by CLC Malta, is not being signed under pressure. It is simply being circulated for whoever would like to endorse the cause. We have also received calls of concern by residents of Zokrija, and of course we are concerned for the residents and the school children there, but the residents and school are taking initiative because they are worried about what is going on.
Silence is not religious - everybody needs to rest. And silence is empirical. Silence is measurable - there is a difference between the background hum of traffic and the constant impact noise created by firearms, which by comparison is very distressing. Some people who seek out Mount St Joseph are very distressed and they come for the therapeutic value of the silence it offers.”
The Jesuits also reacted to insinuations that they were an interested party with regards to one of the other potential investors who expressed an interest in developing the site in question. Stephen Scerri, Director at Mount Saint Joseph said: “One of the proponents had the decency to ask whether the proposal of horse riding stables would be of any disturbance to the mission of the retreat house. We wrote to say that such a proposal would not be in conflict with the mission of Mount St Joseph. This by no means indicates any commercial interest in the project by the Jesuits. Had we been approached for our opinion by the proponents of the shooting range for our feedback, we would have given it willingly. The public has been presented with the likelihood of this project when the Government has already announced its intention to have the shooting range in this location even though there were other sites considered.”
Alison Vella, Communications Officer for the Jesuits said: “Our position is one of no compromise because we are basing our arguments on the facts. What is there to discuss at this stage? We are not here to make bargains. We are not going to sit down just to hear somebody trying to assure us that there is nothing for us to be worried about. The perimeter of the shooting range is just 110m away from the boundary of Mount St Joseph grounds. If we consider the distance from the shooting position to the grounds of Mount St Joseph, the distance, as confirmed by Mr Petroni, falls well short of the recommended distance that should separate shooting points from inhabited buildings let alone a place dedicated to silence. ‘Mr Petroni claimed that such a range has to be built in an outside development zone as it is impossible to build it in a village. He does not seem to be considering Zokrija, a residential zone that lies just a few hundred metres from the shooting range, well within the recommended 1.5km distance recommended by UK studies. ODZ regulations were developed with wisdom and foresight and with a very specific purpose - to protect undeveloped areas of our countryside for the enjoyment of the public and generations to come. With Mr Petroni’s reasoning, there are a hundred and one projects that can be developed on ODZ land.
Mount St Joseph is a retreat house, whose function falls within a similar remit of buildings such as hospitals and retirement homes, proposed for protection by the 2006 MEPA draft policy for the regulation of shooting ranges,” Ms Vella said.
“Nowhere will we find total and absolute silence, but Mount St Joseph has, for fifty years, done its utmost to come very close. We will continue to appeal for its protection on behalf of the Maltese people,” said Fr. Magro.