At every period of distraction, whether it is the Christmas holiday, the feast of Santa Marija or

the hot Summer, a creepy law passes through Parliament, a scandal is tucked away and some loyal supporter or another is given a cushy job that they are not remotely qualified for.

This week we are presented with the annulment of the law on the vilification of religion.

Following hot on its heels is the legalisation of euthanasia whilst the morning-after-pill is casually treated as an aspirin to be added to the out-of-stock medicines.

The argument is not so much about removing the criminal penalties in regard to the vilification of religion but rather as to the principle and how it is portraying our self-recognition and our social and moral outlook as individuals and as a nation.

I always feel a little confused using the word ‘nation’ as it conjures up images of a large country and proud people, with a long history and solid values.  We Maltese are but a small island population, the size of small town in Europe and we seem to be tossing our values and honour overboard like some empty plastic bottle of water.  But, size does not matter in this context and we are in actual fact, a nation. 

It must be inconceivable to nations as anchored in history and religious context as our own, to treat its heritage so non-chalantly, so wastefully, so stupidly.

When it comes to selling passports for Malta or trying to attract foreign investment, the case is often made about Malta being in the centre of the Mediterranean, on the crossroads of civilisation, about the cultural legacy of so many rulers and their influence on our language and customs and of our place in Europe.  We paint a picture of a modern country, with strong roots in our work ethic, family life, Catholic faith and secular laws.

In Judeo-Christian values vs. Western values, Ronald R. Cherry (Renew America) writes

“When Jews moved into Europe during the Diaspora, and later when Christianity became predominant in Europe, there ensued a merging of the Eastern religious values of Biblical Faith and Morality, and Western Reason. This cross pollination benefited both, as reason was brought under the umbrella of Biblical morality, and as faith was made compatible with reason. Judeo-Christian values were born. This merger of East and West can be seen in the writings of Saint Augustine, Maimonides, Saint Thomas Aquinas, John Locke and ultimately in the American Declaration of Independence. The writings of C.S. Lewis in particular paint a beautiful picture of this hybrid between Biblical faith, wisdom and morality, and Western reason.”

He continues:  “Judeo-Christian values still hold fast to reason, but Western values have repeatedly rejected Biblical morality. The Western values of Europe now tend toward recognizing the measurable value of the individual and reversible human rights which are not from the Biblical God, but derived from and documented by an elite group of men. Western values without Biblical morality promote self-idolatry, but in the end, they demote the individual as state-idolatry ensues.”

Archbishop Charles Scicluna encapsulates the deeper meaning, saying  "Demeaning God and man indeed go hand in hand”.

State-idolatry is the prevailing trend in Malta under a government seemingly intent on manipulating the masses in an unrelenting attempt to grab power and yield it as egotistically and profitably as it can for this administration and the next ones they seek to ensure.

With this purpose in mind the stage is set for a multitude of acts of law to repeal any link or belief which contradicts the higher power of the State over the Church and possibly also the Constitution.  In truth, there is nothing moral or intellectual about the Bill decriminalising vilification of religion.  It is all to do with demeaning God because another god must replace Him – the God of money, of self and of State power. 

Today it is this bill, tomorrow it will be the one about euthanasia or abortion or IVF.  All are made to appear as sympathetic to the human being and putting man at the centre of the universe, enjoying every right to self-determination irrespective of their neighbour.  Increasingly the state appears sensitive, benevolent and giving, replacing the Church and its merciful grace.  The ultimate welfare state, going backwards instead of forward. 

Had the government honest intentions in bringing this bill, they would have also brought forward the bill to decriminalise defamation but instead they chose to keep a hold on the media.

Psalm 118 says “In your love hear my voice, O Lord;  give me life by your decrees.  Those who harm me unjustly draw near: they are far from your law.  But you, O Lord, are close;  your commands are truth.  Long have I known that your will is established forever.”

It is said that the great philosopher and scientist Blaise Pascal recited this fullest of all Psalms every day, while the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, assassinated by the Nazis in 1945, made it a living and timely prayer.

Everything that defines us as a nation, as a people and our homeland is being sacrificed for the grand plan to rule over the country and exploit it freely.  Our land is cut like a piece of cheese, our citizenship is peddled like loose change, our language is compromised like never before and our families are in actual fact deprived of the right to their beliefs because there is a new belief now, not just secular but verging on something more sinister.    The ultimate in throw-away society.  Anything is allowed to be used if it can serve the purpose of alienating the people away from their conscience towards abdicating power over their fate, their property and their voice to the state.

Teaching of religion in schools will not remain mandatory, too.  So now we abdicate our heritage, our religion and our soul over to a minority.  How ironic that the same labour party that acted so strongly against migrants in Malta and the effect that this could have on our island by threatening our values, is the same party to devalue our religion and its teachings.  There is certainly a more pragmatic way of catering to students of another religion, than simply giving it all up.  Teaching of ethics is nowhere near teaching about one’s God and that is where Muslims are stronger than Western civilisations.  But this is a case of your enemy is my enemy.  Nothing other than another opportunity to detach people from their security and to get them to depend on the state.  The more the government plays a larger role in people’s lives, the more they control the same subjects.  We had thought that the time of referring to people as Subjects was over but here we are seeing people used as objects devoid of their own reasoning and made subject to their ruler who behaves increasingly more like a corrupt King and far less like a democratic, accountable government.  When enough of what is wrong has been sanctioned and sufficient indebtedness to the regime is created, the hold will be total. 

What will become of our knowledge, our ancestry and our home?  What will keep families from failing or youths from despair and anguish as they become quietly aware of the truth?  What will be left of our land and our freedom? 

Had this imperialism been brought upon us by an invader or colonialist, we may have found a way to preserve our identity and our voice and even risen up against it.   This is intentional.  It is of our own doing and there is no one to blame but our own leaders, elected to run this country fairly and justly but who have gone on to rob it and harm it in irreparable ways.  We have nothing to be proud of and everything to lose.

If it is not in our psychic make up to protest and defend our beliefs, let us at least be truthful about what is happening around us and not remain intellectually passive about it.  Register it, draw a line under it, transmit those concerns at least to your children and look for ways to compensate the loss of learning by showing example and living as committed as possible to a coherent and consistent account of yourself and the Creator, who lets no human action escape him.