Our country is calling us to come forward and, through our vote, choose our representatives for the European Parliament.

This new call in the life of our people is particularly significant and important.

This time, our country is asking us to decide who do we want to represent us, for the next five years, in a Parliament which brings together the representatives of the European Union countries.

This puts on our shoulders the responsibility to be well prepared, and to go and cast our vote on the appointed day.

The background

The European Parliament is today the institution that represents the voice of the European citizen.

The European Parliament that is to be elected will surely be addressing problems affecting the man of today, while also having an impact on future generations.

The right to vote in the elections for the European Parliament, therefore, also carries the duty to prepare oneself properly so that when the time comes, one casts one’s vote with a well-formed conscience, for those who can give the best contribution to the common good.

The Christian voter

For the Christian voter, the vote is a tool with which he can support and sustain those who are prepared to work, energetically and with commitment, for a Europe built on Christian values.

For the Maltese Christian voter, then, the vote is also a means by which one can make sure that the representatives one chooses for the European Parliament are people ready to give a strong and

courageous witness to the Maltese legacy of Christian values.

May all the representatives chosen by the Maltese people for the European Parliament be people who, by word and deed, succeed to unite, in a strong and forceful voice, in favour of values such as those of cherishing man’s life from its conception to its natural death away from abortion and euthanasia, the recognition that marriage consists only of the mutual consent shown by the man and the women getting married, the permanent marriage bond between one man and one women until death, the unity of the family.

May it also be that the representatives chosen by the Maltese people are all people who strive for justice, human solidarity with all those needing it whoever they may be, the full development of man, honesty and integrity in public life, dialogue and harmony among men, the protection of the environment, the safeguards for freedom, the building of peace and the common good.

A responsible vote

Whoever has the right to vote also has the duty to vote, and do so in a responsible manner.

Voting in a responsible manner also means acting according to our conscience after having sincerely sought and found the truth according to reason.

For the Christian, this also means acting in the light of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church regarding faith and morals.

We have to be careful that our choice is free from strings attached to personal interests or those of our party, and to first and foremost seek the common good, that is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.

In the representatives of our choice, we should also seek evidence of professional and personal integrity, love for that which promotes and enhances unity among men, persons ready to give service so that our country and the Europe we are part of grow socially, ethically and politically according to the values we have referred to.

Seeking God’s help

We bishops would like to invite and encourage all our people so that, in our preparation for the vote to choose our representatives in the European Parliament, we seek above all the help of God, through the intercession of the Holy Mother.

The Lord, who is always with us, will help us if we trust in Him.

Let us also pray God to grant all the representatives in the European Parliament the wisdom and help they may need to act always according to His will.