Archbishop Mgr Charles Scicluna was somewhat impulsive when he posted a tweet about a story appearing in The Sunday Times which later turned out to be carrying incorrect figures. But this does not justify the vitriolic comments that have been made against him.

For many years, the Church stood silent even in the wake of issues that affected it. It is most welcome that finally we have an archbishop who is not afraid to speak his mind.

Yet, in what should be democratic Malta, there are still many who want him to stick to his daily administration of the Church without interfering in matters pertaining to society. They want him to shut up.

We beg to differ. Just like anyone else, the archbishop has a right to speak and we will continue to defend his right to do so. And, as head of the church in Malta, the archbishop – whoever it is – has the duty to intervene on subjects that relate to the wellbeing of the people in general.

Most of the attacks are generated by sources close to the government. But then, this is not really a surprise. Labour is dying to start another battle with the Church, just like the ones it had in the 1960s and 1980s, and people working at Castille and in public entities are being allowed a free reign to incite Labour supporters against the Archbishop. Ethics is a word that is not found in their dictionary.

We use the word “incite” with a purpose, because that’s what it amounts to. The list of occasions in which people close to the government and holding public positions take to the social media to attack the archbishop, very often also on a personal level, grows longer by the minute. Such attacks then bring in the hounds of Labour supporters baying for the archbishop’s blood.

Given the official positions they hold in government structures, this attack on the archbishop can be seen as an attack by the government against the Church. And given that these people are ready to defend the indefensible, they are always on the ready to embark on crusades against anyone who dares to criticise Castille. The archbishop is one of their favourite targets.

During last week’s edition of INDEPTH, the programme produced by The Malta Independent and uploaded on www.independent.com.mt, Mgr Scicluna rightly defended his right and duty to speak. He said that he accepted the fact that, if he is to engage in a dialogue on the social media, there will be people who disagree with his views. What is however irritating is that the exchange does not develop into an argument for an argument, but gives a chance to his detractors to lash out with their insults.

In the same programme, the Archbishop admitted that the government did not tell him that he had lost a place on the protocol list. He is now down to fourth, following the President, PM and, from last month, the Speaker.

The fact that the government did not have the decency to inform the Archbishop officially of this important change shows the lack of respect that the government has for his position. It is therefore no wonder that this contempt is then echoed by Labour supporters.