Archbishop Charles Scicluna centred his Independence Day homily around the need for a new economic system for the country, highlighting several problems where the country’s economy is taking precedence over the lives of human beings.

In his homily on Thursday, which celebrated Malta’s 59th year of Independence, Scicluna said that six decades after the historical moment, “it would be pertinent for us to pause and reflect on the true significance of our independence and assess how autonomous we really are.”

Scicluna said that walking through the streets today, we are met with the sight of people often ruled by commercial and personal interests.

He questioned whether in the country’s pursuit of economic success, we have placed rapid financial gain and rampant development ahead of the wealth of the nation, and ahead of our quality of life and values as Maltese, which, in the process, has cast aside the worse off in society.

“In our pursuit of economic success, have we acquiesced to the unacceptable reality of allowing fellow Maltese to endure poor living conditions and subsisting on wages that can barely get some through a week, never mind a month?” Scicluna asked.

“In our pursuit of economic success, have we exploited those whom we have invited into our country to serve our basic needs and subjected them to intolerable conditions that is tantamount to slavery? Have we gone from being the colonised to the colonisers?” he continued.

He said that the country is guilty of all this, and that we should feel ashamed.

Scicluna said that the call to action goes beyond contributing to fundraising events, but demands active listening, action, and the compassionate focus of a loving heart.

He said that today, we are so engaged in chasing after success, materialism and recognition that we often fail to notice the homeless human beings lying on our doorstep.

“We do not even acknowledge, let alone, heed them!” Scicluna said.

He said that there are certain matters which we must never grow complacent about, such as the increasingly large number of people sleeping on the streets.

“That hundreds of our brethren have become dependent on soup kitchens for their nourishment is scandalous. We must never accept these situations as normal!” Scicluna said.

Scicluna said, however, that we must not make the mistake of viewing the poor as beneficiaries of our care and generosity.

“And let us certainly not encourage those experiencing difficulties to apply for ‘social benefits’ to which they are not entitled and that are subsequently acquired in a fraudulent manner. This, along with the corrupt practice that all too often accompanies it, is an act of theft from our nation and an abuse of the sovereignty our forefathers worked so hard to achieve fifty-nine years ago,” Scicluna said.

He continued that we must start communicating with the poor and stop excluding those we usually send away, but rather invite them to occupy the central space where the poor not only become our friends, but also our teachers.

“Only when we create opportunities to encounter our brothers and sisters in need will we give rise to the possibility of genuine dialogue with them, and truly be living in accordance with the aspirations of a liberated and united people,” he said.

He said that our priorities should be to consider how our decisions affect those who are the most vulnerable, which could end up further burdening the poor and making them more dependent.

“Or will our decisions create the conditions, structures and opportunities necessary for these brothers and sisters of ours to get back on their feet?” he said.

Scicluna spoke about the cry of the poor being also a cry for justice, and taking this cry for justice seriously means that we cannot evade the often-uncomfortable questions regarding the social, political, and economic structures that have allowed poverty to persist and even grow in the country.

“It is evident that there are systemic issues in our economy and politics that contribute to this plight. An economic system that does not work in favour of everyone, that destroys the environment and that results in a diminished quality of life, requires restructuring, transformation, and renewal,” Scicluna said.

He said that we cannot continue to rely on economic metrics that fail to take into consideration the quality and dignity of life.

“We cannot allow a climate to persist where the poor are treated with disdain and the foreigners invited into our country to serve us, are despised and insulted under the false guise of nationalism,” he continued.

“Perhaps the greatest challenge of our times is to contemplate and revolutionise a system to which we have become bound, and to visualise a future beyond it,” Scicluna said.

He said that after 59 years of Independence, it is imperative that we reflect on whether we are on the right path for the future.

Scicluna said that the country is in need of forging a new economic model for the years ahead.

“It is not the Church’s role to provide detailed and technical solutions. These should be entrusted to the capable authorities in dialogue with experts, social partners, and civil society. Yet is our duty as a Church to raise these issues and —guided by the teachings of Pope Francis— to support and encourage the transition from an economy that kills to an economy of life,” Scicluna said.

He said that we must ask ourselves questions on what kind of life Malta is providing for workers who, to cope with their daily lives, have to sacrifice their health and time of rest with their families.

“How comfortable are we with an economy built on the exploitation of our natural environment? What life are we offering thousands of foreign workers who are living in slave-like conditions? Not to mention the dozens of workers who tragically lose their lives or sustain serious injuries on construction sites every year,” the Archbishop said.

He said that the solution does not lie in ceasing to ask and seek, nor does the solution lie in looking away.

“The road to a solution starts by openly admitting that no economic gain can ever justify embracing an economy that impoverishes and even kills other human beings,” he continued.

He said that history has proved that through hard work and sacrifices, change has led to something better, despite fears that the country’s economy would collapse once Malta gained independence.

“Today, as we celebrate Independence Day, let us pray for our country to be freed from dependence on the idols of our times that push us towards always having more, and from the rat-race that ends up crushing us humans and our common home,” Scicluna said.

He said that it is only when we are freed from the ‘idols that alienate us’ and the ‘idols of wealth’ who ‘blind and deafen us, and deprive us of our independence,’ we will be able to follow the road of charity and justice that frees the poor from their misery.