If all goes well and the Icelandic ash cloud does not disrupt travel from Rome, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Malta this afternoon.

The Pope will arrive in Malta at the height of a storm which has rocked the Catholic Church’s foundations across the world – Malta included. But bridges are being built. Pope Benedict will no doubt be greeted by thousands of the faithful, and as a publishing house we also extend a very warm welcome.

The world’s media began descending on Malta yesterday – Reuters, CNN, the BBC and many more – no doubt anxious to see how the Pope is going to handle this visit. The international media have been exerting a lot of pressure on the Vatican to see the Pope meet more victims of sexual abuse. Men in Malta, who have been in the media spotlight, are also seeking a quick audience with him. In part, the Church has moved to bridge the gap – Archbishop Paul Cremona met them and intends to follow up, while Mgr Carmel Scicluna, the Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, has also accepted the men’s request for a formal meeting.

Mgr Scicluna, the Vatican’s top official responsible for dealing with sexual and physical abuse by members of the clergy, has agreed to meet the Maltese victims in June.

Whether the meeting with Pope Benedict takes place or not, is up to the Pope himself. In a previous leading article, we made our stance and we will not dwell on the matter any more, for it would be a travesty to take the Pope’s visit into this one singular context.

Malta has been struggling over the past years. Not economically, morally. As we stepped up a gear to enter the realm of advanced nations as a partner and competitor – we seem to have lost our moral compass. As life has got quicker and more materialistic, we have forgotten some of our values. The religious amongst us would refer to these as our Catholic values – the truth is that both are one and the same.

Let us not talk of sin and doctrine. Let us talk about a few things which we can identify with – a few things which, if we really looked at, we will realise that we have done wrong.

We have seen a huge increase in failed marriages. Marriages that fail at the first hurdle – surely, if we just recall and implement the values of trust, honesty, respect and hard work, more marriages would survive.

We should look at how we have treated immigrants who arrived on our shores after months at sea. We did not treat them well at all. Surely, we could have done better. We could have welcomed them more, tolerated them more, taught them more and accepted them more.

Political division. Take a look around at what we are doing to ourselves – to our fellow Maltese who might have a different political opinion… surely, this is not right. Surely we can respect each other more and surely there is no need for all the bile that is going around.

Tolerance. The shoe is also on the other foot. Malta is the most Catholic of Catholic countries – our minorities need to be recognised and accepted by the Church. This includes the gay and lesbian community and religious minorities.

Let us take this visit for what it is. It is an opportunity for those who have lapsed to return to the faith if they so wish. It is an opportunity for the devout to express their faith. But above all it is a chance for us all to revaluate the way we live our lives. Welcome.