It had to be Europe's famously "100 per cent Catholic" duo of nations to serve as a prime example to the rest of Europe where issues of sexual orientation and minority rights are concerned. Of course, they did so much to the chagrin of both their Church hierarchies.

The cool, practical Scandinavians apart, for they have been decades ahead, Ireland and Malta have shown that revolution comes from within, creating an opportune time to finally install rights that were denied in centuries of horrendous ignorance and cruel persecution. We only need to go back some 75 years or so, however, to find Germany, then already an industrial giant and, of course, a Christian bastion, sending pink-starred gays, socialists and trade unionists to concentration camps and inevitable execution.

The social revolution that has been taking place in Ireland and Malta, once labelled and ridiculed as arch-conservative because of their total commitment to Catholicism, has triggered off a series of social tremors on the Continent, with Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and others seeking to follow suit by making for their societies a better living domain where love is not dictated by so-called norms, obsolete traditions and stagnant beliefs.

Those of us who lived the 60s revolution, quite naturally continue to have some déjà-vu feelings. After all, the world is being run by our offspring today, most of whom have been brought up to think positively about matters of love, sex and, no, not necessarily drugs and rock 'n' roll, but a humanist society that in its majority respects minority rights. Lovely juxtaposition, that.

Have we been better parents than our own parents? I'd like to think so, but of course doubts linger. Have we been too liberal, too lenient, and too forward-looking? If we have, it would have all been done with good intentions. Most of us baby-boomers never really lacked anything essential, but everything was strictly provided to us in measures. Our parents had been through a global war that brought with it acute food shortages, death and destruction, so they knew perfectly well how to organise their families and how to best protect and nurture them.

In doing so, however, they had to retain control, for as long as possible, of our emotional and physical needs, a reality that eventually led to the fast and furious social and cultural changes of the late 60s when it became only too evident our generation was ready to work for a paradigm shift in people's mentalities. That is what led to the free spirit of the "hippie" generation and the internationalist movement sought to cement - when finally in the seat of power everywhere, especially during the 70s - all that previously had been seen as "idealistic fodder".

Despite Thatcherism, the awful Reagan era and the right-wing tail-end that followed them all over Europe in the 80s and 90s, people's minds broke free from their ideological straightjackets to continue with the social revolution that eventually led to today's realities. 

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A voice of wisdom

I was struck by what the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, had to say after Irish voters overwhelming voted yes to legalise gay marriage. His was a voice of wisdom and logic, contrary to recent and not so recent pot-shots from the Maltese Catholic Church that, alas, continues to seem more inclined to lean backwards rather than joining society's refreshingly new attitude.

Archbishop Martin said the Catholic Church needs a "reality check", claiming that the Irish referendum's outcome was the result of a "social revolution" which had been brewing nationwide for some time. It certainly reminds one of the Malta experience.

He asked: "Have we drifted away completely from young people? Most of those people who voted 'Yes' are products of our Catholic schools for 12 years." Ditto.

During a candid interview, Mgr Martin claimed that getting the Church's message across has become a "big challenge" - not least because its influence on Irish society has dwindled in the light of increasing secularism and a series of child abuse scandals. Ditto.

As in Malta, there has been a sharp decline in Mass attendance in recent decades across Ireland. There must be a reason for that.

However, it was Joan Burton, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister, who clinically wrapped it all up when she said that the people who will gain most from these changes will be today's children.

"The children in every town, village and schoolyard will now grow up knowing their country accepts them - whoever it is they one day will grow to be, and whoever it is they one day grow to love." This automatically applies to Malta's future generations.

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Is there a trusted media anymore?

There were times when both teachers and parents advised us kids to read the local Times and listen to the BBC for reliable news and quality English. Given today's hatchet media scenario, where the individual tweet and quick-fire immediacy are the prerequisites, it would be daft to think it has remained so.

The local and international media scenes continue to give an on-going display of utter unprofessionalism and a complete and unfortunate departure from the traditional strictures of facts, confirmation of facts, and unbiased reporting.

On the local front, some newspaper, news-portal, blog and radio/television stories are often so obviously pregnant with political motivation and innuendo that one really is not caught between right and wrong, but between wrong and wrong.

The international media sector is faring no better. Below are just three recent examples of many that occur on a daily basis:

• The UK Daily Mail has caused outrage after publishing an article online about a Greek holiday destination, Kos, turning into a "nightmare" because it was flooded with refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. The tabloid has been accused of showing scant remorse when describing the refugees as "penniless immigrants", suggesting the refugees were ruining the holiday island and making it untidy.
• The allegations of security lapses on Trident nuclear submarines have not received much attention in the British media, with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange saying he suspects there is a "standing D-Notice on all Trident nuclear weapons issues", meaning the media has been warned by the military not to report on the matter over security concerns.
• The BBC has acknowledged that its presenter Sarah Montague did not adequately challenge the highly controversial comments made by Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon about Palestine on the broadcaster's flagship Radio 4 "Today" programme.

It is all part of the whole news and current affairs situation as it is today where, sadly, one can hardly say there is a trusted media anywhere, anymore.

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National realignment

I see that over 35,000 people from northern England have signed a petition, asking to join future independent Scotland and break away from London. It says 'the northerners' have more bonds with Scotland than with "the ideologies of the London-centric south".

"The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the north of England," says an online petition to the UK government on change.org website. The document is dubbed "Allow the north of England to secede from the UK and join Scotland".

In the same spirit of national realignment, especially if we end up losing part of the Zonqor area in Marsascala, can we have a petition signed by the citizens of Lampedusa and Pantelleria to join the Maltese archipelago? Don't worry about the Sicilians. They're already here.