Malta’s auxiliary bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi spoke about the importance to cherishing and protecting human life during his homily in a mass celebrating the Day of Life at the St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

During his homily, he thanked those who have worked to foster awareness in favour of human life at its most vulnerable and dependent stages and spoke about how making exceptions in the protection of human life leads to the endangerment of not just one person, but everyone’s quality of life.

Auxiliary Bishop Galea-Curmi said that Sunday’s gospel by St Mark highlights Jesus Christ’s continuous work in favour of the life and health of so many people. Thus, the message he wished to emphasise was that “we must all commit ourselves to cherish human life, protect it, and work against everything that is a risk to it – from conception until its natural end.”

He spoke about the importance to having a consistent ethic in favour of human life, from conception. “There is sometimes a wrong idea that if you accept the new human life, you call it a baby that you are expecting; while if you reject it, you call it a few insignificant cells”, he said. He continued that human life should never depend on one’s willingness to accept it, rather it should be valued through its intrinsic dignity.

He then added that “for us who believe, human life is always an image of God, even when it is still in its infancy and not yet visible if not through an ultrasound.”

Galea-Curmi then preached that through this pro-life approach, people may better judge personal and societal life choices. Elaborating on this point, he stated that “today, there are several challenges in our country, and without this criterion, we end up making choices that harm ourselves and others.”

In this regard, the auxiliary bishop mentioned challenges with drugs, the environment, domestic violence, conflicts and wars, of people seeking refuge in a foreign land, of the elderly and vulnerably sick people, as well as the challenge of those who are considering taking their own lives. He called these issues clear examples of situations when the value of human life is not fundamental within the choices of many and that this approach causes all members of society to suffer.

On the topic of drugs, the bishop criticised how society has grown more accepting of these substances in spite of two facts: that these substances can leave harmful effects on victims and society in general; and advice from associations and a large number of professionals stating the harmful physical and mental effects that comes with their intake. “Their advice was ignored and now there are those who are constantly boasting, as if there is some progress in society, that we have this wave of people recreating themselves in this way,” he said.

With the environment, he criticised that Malta “should not be turned into a panorama, or rather into a jumble of concrete, cement, and floors” because the degradation of our natural environment threatens the livelihood of current and future generations.

For the remaining issues, he said that a perspective in favour of cherishing and protecting human life promotes peace and empowers people to seek support, irrespective of where they come from, how they look like, and what their beliefs are, because every life is precious and holds value. When discussing this outlook in warfare, the bishop stated that “nothing justifies the destruction of so many lives, so many victims of violence, hatred and contempt for human life.”

To conclude his homily, he reiterated the principle of promoting the value of human life from conception and prayed for people to garner a consistent ethic in favour of life, through which we can cherish each other with love.