Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi gave a pro-life speech at St Johns Cathedral on Sunday during Mass to mark the International Day of Life.

"My appeal today is that we all commit ourselves to the protection of life as a principle we embrace rather than because convention dictates such.”

 

"The protection of life, as a principle, is not tied to a mandate given by the people. I shall put it in simpler terms: I am against cruelty to animals on principle. If the people give a mandate for animals to be mistreated, I stand wholeheartedly against it all the same since this is a principle that does not depend on the people’s mandate. The protection of life even at conception is also a question of principle."

 

He insisted that the fact that Malta was all alone in the protection of human life from conception was not a matter of shame, but pride.

 

"It makes us proud that for us, human life is so precious that we wish the very best for the child when it is still in the womb even when it is only a mass of cells. It is not the number cells that determines whether it is a human life or not."

 

"Whenever human life is in danger, we should be united to protect it. It may be that someone’s life is in danger at sea struggling to live, waiting for someone to help or risk going under. Another person could be in danger because of the conditions he or she is living in. The life of others could be at risk due to pollution and the destruction of the environment. Someone might be tempted to take drugs and is duped into thinking that these so-called recreational drugs are the gateway to good times without consequences.

 

It could also be that a person who is old and infirm is anxious that he or she may be considered to be someone whose time is up.”

 

He encouraged a stronger commitment to help individuals, such as woman who faced difficulties that had to do with their pregnancies.

 

"We must give our support in every way to those women who endure all the burden and are left alone. Every victim cries out for our help. We must work together so that these women do not find themselves alone, they may find in us the support they need during their hard times."

 

"We must all show our gratitude and pray for all those who give witness to life so that, with courage, they will continue to convey this all-important message for our time. Saint Paul tells that love does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices in truth."