The incident at the Mother of Jesus (Ta’ Giezu) church in Valletta last Friday, where a foreign man smashed a 200-year-old masterpiece crucifix and broke candelabra, has made it amply clear that we need more security in our churches.
What happened during a Mass last Friday is a great shame and the incident touched the sensitivity of our people. People have now started asking questions as to whether it is still safe to go to church.
Churches, especially on Sundays and feast days, host hundreds of people for Mass. Hundreds of people that are in reality cooped up inside a hall which can be an easy target as any. In the incident on Friday, a foreign man sat in the pews and then decided to carry out an act of vandalism. Luckily, no one was hurt.
But what if some other person or a group of people decided to carry out some other act in a church – perhaps more serious than the one that took place in Valletta? He or she would have targets galore in a concentrated area.
We should not under-estimate such scenarios – they could very easily happen. No one is screened before going into church and there are no CCTV cameras either.
Some may argue that it would ruin the sanctity of our churches, but at the end of the day, what could be more important than ensuring the safety of worshipers in a church?
We hear stories on the foreign news wires of various bloody killings that happen at random around the world – in schools, at workplaces and in other public areas. Religious places have not been spared either.
We should not think ourselves immune to such atrocities. It only takes one person to go over the edge and we could be looking at a tragedy.
Some of the people at the Ta’ Giezu church thought that the man might have planted a bomb in the church and the EOD squad was called in to investigate. Luckily, there was no bomb, but it only illustrates how easy it could be to plant one in a place that is so easily accessible.
In addition, CCTV would safeguard against theft from churches, whether it be an icon, a piece of gold or silver, collection boxes or even precious paintings or carvings. In short, we must make these buildings more secure.
They must be more secure for those people who work there, priests and sacristans among others, and also to ensure the safety of the congregation.
Every activity where people gather – such as football matches, night clubs, concerts, political meetings – have security measures in place. People are screened to ensure they don’t have weapons, while big brother always has a camera lens to watch the activities of those who are present.
The idea is to try to spot a threat before it can materialise into a more serious situation and this is a positive thing. The vast majority of people who attend church should not have anything to worry about; they go to church to worship and pay their respects. A better security in churches could also act as a deterrent.
There are other implications to this story. The “religious” aspect must be given its due consideration. We have all heard of the incidents that have taken place all over the world for “religious” reasons, and now it is apparent that Malta is not immune to this kind of situation too.
It must be insisted that every person has the right to practice the religion he or she deems the best for his or her personal development. Equally important is to respect other religions too.