The greatest enemy to Maltese society lies inside the people themselves, Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna declared during yesterday’s homily celebrating the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Senglea.

He stated that greed has poisoned Malta’s society with “injustices that continue to poison the country’s social fabric.”

The victory Malta now needs is that of harmony, built on social justice, fundamental human rights and respect for everyone’s dignity.

The “fight” we have to fight is an internal one, he said.

He asked people to ponder: "Are we treating each other as brothers or are we using the category of enemy for each other?"

The Archbishop instructed Maltese society to reflect on the common effort we must make so that, as in 1565 and 1943, we can overcome the feeling of hatred that exists among us.

He hoped that Victory Day "will always challenge us to fight the battles that need to be fought, fought together, hand in hand, and with one rope."

In referencing recent words used by Malta’s President when addressing the public inquiry into journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder as well as words by Pope Francis, Archbishop Scicluna said that at the same time as working to overcome the enemy of hatred among us, “we can't erase the past with some magic eraser” and that “it would be foolish to forget injustice because otherwise you would condemn yourself to repeat it.”