The unfolding events of recent weeks (perhaps unique in Maltese social history) have demonstrated how serious social problems have mushroomed during these last 25 years. The writing had been on the wall for quite some time and we did not lack people who interpreted it correctly and pointed out the approaching dangers. They went unheeded and the resulting tsunami has damaged us all. 

When our people were told by their political leaders that they had never had it so good, or words to that effect, the rot that was already visible assumed ever bigger proportions. The never-had-it-so-good young generation fell victim to the alcoholic and sexual excesses of the Paceville culture – one that perhaps future anthropologists and archaeologists might come across and puzzle over. And were our television stations to keep films of certain programmes for posterity, citizens might yet puzzle over the quasi-glorification of such excesses presented in the name of documentation and discussion

The wilfully blind

History tells us that when a culture finds itself in trouble, the real cause is not the immediate one, but must be sought in the fissures that have been progressively weakening the social fabric over time. The vote in favour of divorce is only the proverbial last straw: society had been fracturing long before then. The proof? The easy importation of drugs into an island, when only last week the President was lamenting how the war on drugs has been lost; global tv channels that, in a variety of ways, project sexual imagery into every home together with the easy access to porn via the internet; the adult clubs that now proliferate (and, as the Mafia says, it’s only business); the loss of parental control; the break-up of so many marriages; the importation of “partners” via the internet; the weakening of all forms of authority and good governance with scandals affecting both state and church; the hedonistic chase for the “good” life and all that sustains it. All these and more constitute the drip system that has been poisoning our lives as surely as the chemical run-off from our fields is poisoning our aquifer.  

The Island of St Paul did not submerge because of the divorce referendum. It had long been subsiding, as witnessed by the dwindling and aging congregations, the open rebellion by members of the clergy that contributed in no small measure to the electoral confusion that reigned and split both the political parties and the church; the wedding-type celebrations of Holy Communion and Confirmation more befitting the cat-walk than a church function; the rejection of religious precepts that contradict personal agendas; the “festa” culture that glorifies the drunkenness that attends the often blasphemous band marches, where sub-tribes celebrate their identity. Where was the political and religious leadership to counter such trends when they became visible? This is what makes the appeal to conscience risible when it comes from certain quarters. It was only invoked when it was as late as the strategy used in the recent battle against an Opposition that had been allowed to choose and prepare its ground. 

A Via Sagra with a difference

There is a crying need for a new beginning before the believers who remain are lost to the church once and for all. And it is not only a question of religion either, because a nation without belief is a ship without a compass. Belief must be built on the gospel message and proclaimed by those who themselves live by the precepts they preach. Does the Church have leaders brave enough to pluck out the weeds and cast them into the fire? Does it have the courage to turn back a blasphemous culture that turns the holiest of days in the Christian calendar into a pageant for the cameras of the tourists who sit on purposely-built stands that turn the church façade into a mere backdrop for a theatrical event? Even as foreigners film these quaint – in their eyes – biblical processions, they cannot but be struck by the shallowness of a faith that has to rely on such displays. Christ was paraded and publicly ridiculed in his time, but Christian Malta sees nothing wrong in annually repeating his humiliation. Carnival is celebrated many times a year in this country. No wonder we are such a happy lot. What is needed is another Reformation, but one based on love, comprehension and assistance, not exclusion. John XXIII tried but failed. Can we ever hope for another in our time?

On the political front, I believe that the referendum result has presented our politicians with a golden opportunity to plan for the next hundred years. That would require going beyond the easy political arithmetic of the five times table. While I call on the Church to reassemble and restructure before the faithful turn to other forms of guidance, I also call on our political parties to decide what future they perceive for our island. A rising demand for the formal separation of Church and state (something that the Church itself claims to support) feeds the media through the contributions of many who fail to declare their true interest. I consider it the height of dishonesty and a travesty of democracy for articles not to declare the writer’s interest. When I attend medical conferences nowadays, all the speakers have to declare their professional and financial interests. 

Grasping the nettle

But if we are to have this Church-state separation, it must be complete. There is no reason for some religious festivals to be celebrated as national holidays by a state that officially should not then ‘do God’. Apart from the fact that we have too many holidays, it is illogical to ask a population that is fast moving away from its religious base to miss out on a day’s work to celebrate something it hardly cares about or believes in. Religious feasts should be celebrated as such and apply only to the believers. This one-foot-here-and-the-other-foot there, a game in which we excel, needs to be brought to an end.

The Divorce Bill must become law, for the people have so voted. For me, however, the issue with a no-fault divorce lies precisely with its definition, for a break up cannot be without fault. We are told that it takes two to make a quarrel. We are told that dragging the issue through the courts is needless pain. So we propose a separation that is allowed to take place as casually as saying “ciao” to a friend; to me, that flies in the face of reason. Defaulters must not be rewarded.  

At the same time, a bill giving gays the right to a civil union (since we are asked to celebrate difference, then the difference must find its own vocabulary) must also go onto the statute book. a law on cohabitation must be proposed and partners opting for cohabitation must assume the same obligations as married couples. If they still opt for “freedom”, then they should be cut off from the protection of the law and any benefits that society willingly gives to deserving cases.

A law regulating IVF/ISCI procedures, especially on the lines of Italian Law, should not encounter insurmountable hurdles. I hope that we will not be more catholic than the Pope and have Maltese couples once more seeking treatment abroad.

Out of the valley of shadows

Once all this is behind us, we can then concentrate on our political turf. What this country urgently requires is good governance with all that it implies, together with all-round discipline and respect for law, order and authority. That assumes we have institutions that deserve the respect of the public in whose name they operate. We must overhaul our civil service and re-invent it as the apolitical institution it once was. Ministerial secretariats, staffed by small armies of people whose main qualification is political loyalty, should be radically slimmed down and stripped of executive functions. This should also apply to all quangos, authorities, agencies and what have you, both for boards of management or staff. It is only then that citizens can start believing in their political masters. The saga of the never-ending reform of our law courts must be finally brought to a conclusion: it is a national shame that has lasted for far too long.  

Our next target must be to reduce social inequalities. The last few years have witnessed great upheavals. Our membership of the European Union has been a mixed blessing but at the moment the taste is more sour than sweet. Education, whilst making great strides, still suffers from an unsustainable drop out rate at secondary level that further contributes to our level of poverty. While the world around us is economically and financially faltering, we are on the whole keeping our heads above water. But there are many who are feeling the water lapping at their lips. Many pensioners are facing great difficulties, even if the Pension Working Group does not seem concerned with this present reality when it has refused to consider present pensioners in its recommendations. Is this another matter of conscience for the Minister to consider?

Broken and single-parent families constitute a sore that is likely to become worse. A drive towards re-establishing the traditional family is indispensable if we truly believe what the centuries have taught us, that the basis of a strong society is a strong family. The first letter defending abortion has already appeared in the press. This is how it starts. This is where conscience should come into play. Like all organisms, once the family disintegrates beyond the point of recovery, there will not be much one can do about it. It is as urgent a task as cleaning up our finances to avert the catastrophe that is still lurking around the corner. 

A travesty of values

I strongly believe that we have allowed the outside world to dictate its terms to us. In our rush to look European and copy everything that is European (including what doesn’t work), we are in danger of losing our identity, something that not even centuries of colonisation managed to do. We are becoming more and more a travesty of real values, and the same mentality that was always ready to open its arms, and more, to the colonial powers and everything that was foreign, is now embracing European trends. Unfortunately, what is being embraced is too often not the great, the good and the noble that Europe offers, but a tawdry imitation.