Reference is made to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s article, When to back off (TMID, 30 November).

Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca categorically denies the gratuitous insinuations that he is conducting “regular tirades against working mothers”, and that he condemns working women “as being the main cause of the breakdown of family life”.

Mgr Mercieca regrets very much that his exhortation to mothers to give top priority to their young children according to their specific call, precisely as mothers, continues to be misinterpreted so much by certain persons.

The Archbishop would like to reiterate that his views on the subject of motherhood and women who work outside their family home, according to and in line with the Church’s social teaching, are basically the following:

• the distinctive natural bond that exists between mother and child cannot be ignored;

• society must strive to ensure that the family’s collective income permits mothers to have a real choice of whether to work outside the family home or not, especially when they have young children to take care of;

• it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to look at women who dedicate themselves to their families as if they are second-class and failed citizens;

• what a mother contributes to the family and through it to society deserves full attention, appreciation and recognition;

• society should do its utmost to support effectively the hard work women do in fulfilling their vocation as mothers, and in the gestation and up-bringing of their children through family-friendly policies;

• the emphasis on the mother’s role in the upbringing of children should not overshadow the importance of the father’s specific role because their roles are complementary – i.e. full attention must be given to the role of men as husbands and fathers, as well as to the responsibility which they share with their wives for their marriage, the family and the raising of their children;

• women have the right to full opportunities and to be able to find and keep their right place in all sectors of society; women should be assured equal opportunities in every sphere of society, from education to the practice of professions and the acquisition of jobs, and that everything should be done to encourage women to develop their talents.

Charles Buttigieg

Public Relations Officer

Archbishop’s Curia

Editorial note: This letter was received by the Malta Independent on Friday and was a reply by Mgr Joseph Mercieca