Archbishop Charles Scicluna has warned that Malta's institutions must remain stronger than the interests seeking to influence them, saying public trust depends on institutions serving people with independence, courage and integrity.

Speaking during the traditional Independence Day Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta on Monday, Scicluna said independence was not only an achievement of the past, but a responsibility entrusted to every generation.

Scicluna urged Malta to exercise greater prudence and foresight in managing the country's rapid population and economic growth, warning that infrastructure and institutions must not be expected to catch up afterwards.

"Freedom gives us the possibility to shape our future, wisdom determines whether we shape it well," he said.

Referring to the day's Gospel, in which Jesus speaks of a person calculating the cost before building a tower, the Archbishop said the passage also highlighted the virtue of prudence and the importance of looking ahead before making decisions.

He said Malta's economy had expanded significantly in recent years, with employment growing and people from many countries contributing their skills and labour to the country's prosperity and essential services.

However, he warned that rapid development and population growth also placed pressure on roads, housing, electricity, drainage and sewage systems, waste management, healthcare and the environment.

"Before encouraging further population growth and development, have we calculated what our infrastructure and environment can sustain and considered the quality of life of the people who live here?" he asked.

Scicluna said difficulties experienced with electricity, sewage, congestion, waste and construction were reminders that infrastructure could not always be expected to catch up afterwards.

He also linked the need for prudence and foresight to the institutions on which a free and democratic society depends.

Referring to his recent address at the 'State of the Nation' conference, Scicluna said allegations of corruption and networks involving money, influence, favours and protection had caused damage to Malta and its reputation.

He warned that when informal networks become more powerful than institutions, the danger goes beyond individual acts of corruption and becomes a threat to the integrity and ultimately the independence of the nation.

He said Malta belonged to everyone, "irrespective of political colour or creed".

Scicluna also referred to the aftermath of the recent court proceedings concerning the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying that while some people had focused on their own "bias, narrative or minor discomfort", others continued to carry "deep wounds".

He specifically mentioned the Caruana Galizia family, which he said was still seeking full justice for her murder after nine years, as well as people who had lost faith in institutions, fearing they were serving networks of money and influence rather than the public.

"My appeal is to those entrusted with public responsibility, and to all of us who have a duty to ensure that our institutions remain stronger than the interests that may seek to influence them," he said.

"Ultimately, this is not about politics. It is much bigger than that. It is about what kind of country we want Malta to be, and whether people can trust its institutions to serve them with independence, courage and integrity."

The Archbishop said the Church must also apply the same standards of transparency, foresight and accountability to itself.

Referring to his repeated comments on child protection, he said prudence and foresight were incompatible with "omertà" or arrangements that impose silence on victims or their families.

"When we, as leaders within the Church, fail in this responsibility, our witness sounds hollow and our ministry is compromised," he said.

Turning to population growth, Scicluna said rapid growth placed pressure on housing, healthcare and resources, but stressed that "the human person must never be treated as the problem".

"Neither children, families nor migrants are economic units or demographic statistics," he said.

He acknowledged the contribution of foreign workers, many of whom care for Malta's elderly and sick and provide services on which the country depends.

"They deserve our gratitude, but also justice," he said, adding that migrants should not be treated simply as "a pair of hands" and that no economic model should depend on people accepting conditions that would be considered unacceptable for Maltese workers or their children.

At the same time, Scicluna questioned whether continuous substantial population growth was sustainable for an island of Malta's size, calling for investment in Malta's own people while welcoming foreign workers where they were genuinely needed and treating them with dignity.

The Archbishop also questioned how Malta measures national success, saying economic growth, investment and employment were important but that GDP could not capture every aspect of a country's wellbeing.

He asked whether young people could afford a decent home, whether elderly people could receive the care they deserved, whether workers were treated with dignity, whether people could trust public institutions and whether more protected green spaces could be preserved.

"Will the Malta we leave our children be not merely richer, but better than the Malta we inherited?" he asked.

Scicluna said good governance required an honest assessment of what Malta could sustainably support, institutions strong enough to protect the common good, and people within those institutions willing to place duty above money, influence, friendship or favour.

Concluding his homily, he returned to the Gospel's image of salt losing its taste, saying Malta "must not lose its flavour".

He said prosperity should not come at the expense of the environment, communities, heritage, hospitality, solidarity, integrity and respect for human dignity.

"Independence gave Malta the freedom to shape its future. Our responsibility is to shape it wisely - and to safeguard the independence and integrity of the institutions through which that freedom is protected," he said.

He prayed for wisdom and prudence among those governing Malta, integrity and courage among those entrusted with its institutions, justice for workers, compassion towards migrants and responsibility among citizens for the country entrusted to their care.

He also called on Church leaders to recognise their failures, correct them and place truth, justice and the protection of vulnerable people at the heart of their ministry.

Scicluna concluded by calling for a Malta that is "prosperous but sustainable, welcoming but just, ambitious but prudent" and "worthy of those who came before us and of the generations still to come".