Every communication, in whatever form, must always be inspired by the ethics of respect towards truth and human dignity. It would be a tragedy if, for the sake of popularity, bigger audiences or bigger profits, this importance of this criteria is diminished or, worse still, put aside.

For the media to function properly, what is needed is for those who use it and, more importantly, media owners, to know the principles of moral order.

In his address on World Telecommunications Day, Monsignor Mercieca said the media has a great affect on the family – its contribution could help to strengthen this structure or weaken in, depending on how the media tackled this subject.

There are two scenarios, Mgr Mercieca explained: there are those who promote the values that are the basis of the Maltese family and there are those who put marriage and the family on the side to push forward other forms that go against the traditional family.

There are some who write or say that marriage is no bond at all, others that promote sex before marriage, cohabitation and adultery as if they were acceptable and inevitable. What is the agenda of those who take every chance to speak about divorce, marriage between persons of the same sex, abortion and euthanasia?

Mgr Mercieca said the media should make the family a priority, and urged them to be sensitive in the way they treat this topic. “If you defend the family, you will be helping the common good,” he concluded.