“We are having an identity problem in this country,” said President Dr Edward Fenech Adami yesterday at the presentation of the Pope John XXIII prize for 2005.
“To keep our identity safe, we must keep in mind and remember those people who fought and worked to give us our ideologies. We must be careful not to lose their memories and do our best to preserve our identity as a nation,” he added.
The Peace Laboratory awarded the Pope John XXIII prize for goodness 2005 to Shaun Cassar, 13, from Zejtun.
He attends St Paul’s Missionary College at Rabat and goes out of his way at school to help a fellow classmate, Matthew Chetcuti, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Matthew walks with the help of a K-walker which is pulled behind him as he walks. Since he cannot carry any objects Shaun helps him in anyway that he can. This work is carried out under the continual supervision of Matthew’s facilitator, Monica Abdilla.
Fr Dijonisju Mintoff, from the Peace Laboratory, praised Shaun for his actions and praised his parents for raising him with good values.
“It is my pleasure to give this gift to a boy who has done his best to help those in need,” said Dr Fenech Adami.
“Some people are lucky to be given the gift of a golden heart to help other people,” Shaun told reporters after receiving the award.
Dr Fenech Adami mentioned the results of the referendum held in Italy last weekend and said that through their abstention, 75 per cent showed the government that they did not want to liberalise research or experimentation on embryos.
“Assisted reproduction is a subject which we have to consider carefully and understand the consequences of our actions,” he said.
The state should regulate this issue, “however, legislation should not be based on Catholic beliefs but on anthropological convictions.”
Fr Mintoff pointed out that one of the biggest challenges for modern families is to find time to spend together. “The family is the heart of society and is so important that one cannot risk ruining it because of certain ideologies,” he said.