No state within state

Fair enough, but once a Church functionary, from among both the lower and higher echelons, confirms his or her suspicion of a fait accompli or, at least, a pretty substantiated allegation, should he just rush to the Church dignitary of his trust or first, as we all should, to the civil authorities for the Police to launch an investigation? Criminal investigation of whichever case and involving anyone and any organisation, is the recognised sole territory of the State and, as law-abiding citizens, we are rightly expected to report what criminal deed we may be unfortunate enough to happen to witness or learn about.

The Church cannot act like a state within a state. Like every other organisation, it has its own rules and regulations and is also entitled to take action against any member who happens to break any one of them, but if it is a criminal act, such as the sexual abuse of children and the vulnerable, we live in a secular state, thank goodness, and any action has first to be taken by the civil authorities.

I am sure both Pope Francis and Archbishop Scicluna do not dispute this reality, and subdued references to “the State authorities” have appeared in more recent Vatican documents and clarifications. It is the understatement, the underestimation, of it all that irks many of us for whom ChurchState separation is of fundamental importance. Members of the clergy and religious organisations are – first and foremost – citizens, like the rest of us. They are bound by the same laws, and have the same benefits and responsibilities.

Clear the mess

What a brilliant idea, whoever had it, to bulldoze that old and abandoned cement factory in Ta’ Qali to help further develop Malta’s biggest national park, with the planting of thousands of trees and the provision of open and safe spaces for families. The Island is full of similar derelict buildings crying out for either demolition or a reprieve as part of a project that would give it a new lease of life.

The projected use of old, derelict buildings for social housing is another great idea that could also be expanded by involving the private sector.

There are thousands of vacant, dilapidated structures which can be turned into lovely, welcoming homes for people who need them and who would eventually be encouraged to become their owners. During the past few days we have seen more good examples of such projects: the Notarial Archives and the restoration of the 17th-century abattoir building that will house the Valletta Design Cluster.

While it is to be noted how the usual tree-loving voices have kept mum on this afforestation project, part of a national plan that includes two more at Birżebbuġa and Delimara, when they always cry foul every time a couple of trees have, always with regret, had to make way for a better traffic flow in problem areas, the replacement of untidiness, clutter, jumble and disarray by projects and schemes that cater for today’s needs is actually helping to avoid sacrificing more of our already limited countryside and fields. The same can be said for land reclamation where it is possible and will have no impact on the environment.

Clearing the mess of the old and unused buildings with which the Maltese Islands have been cluttered over the decades is a prerequisite, ironically even at a time like this when a tower crane is looking down on you from every corner. Each and every one of us can pinpoint one or more such buildings in our towns and villages. They have stood there unused, shuttered and greying with each passing hour. Would anyone not prefer seeing them renovated and put to good use – social homes, boutique hotels, handicraft centres, homes for the elderly, venues for social, religious and professional teaching, etc – rather than just letting them deteriorate and crumble slowly, a source of danger for passersby?

Malta can be much cleaner, much greener, as Gozo, more or less, already is. Comino can take as many trees as Ta’ Qali, making it a small, green spot where a scheduled and monitored number of people can visit, possibly even able to watch some animals and birds purposely introduced as the Knights did when they created Buskett centuries ago.

Of dreams such things are made, I know. Who could have foreseen, for example, the recently announced Santa Venera project that will see the fuel-fumes-filled, noise-magnified “grand canyon” leading to the tunnels to and from the South of the island being covered and the surface turned into an attractive green and relaxation spot for the longsuffering residents of the area?

Innovation is the word, and not necessarily always in the technological sense.

Merchants of hate

It is not Julian Assange that has turned the media into an ugly circus, but those on the extreme right of politics who preach hate of all sorts. Take Katie Hopkins, the so-called media personality, columnist and businesswoman, whose outspoken views always attract huge controversy, criticism, media scrutiny, protests and petitions.

She now seems to be branching out from being a vicious racist, poisoning the minds and souls of her English readers, into the field of opposition to scientific fact, by taking an infantile position on mandatory vaccination. She wrote on Twitter: “The British and German states wants to mandate what they inject into your baby. They will seek to control you by taking your school place. You know what is best for your child. Your child is not an animal. The herd is not your concern.”

How society can produce such merchants of hate needs another Charles Darwin to explain, alas.