Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech have issued a joint statement today, condemning the actions of some people during the Nadur Carnival and have appealed for the authorities to enforce the law.
In a statement [1] issued last week Mgr Grech had condemned the actions of some people who had dressed up as the Risen Christ, while others had imitated Christ surrounded by the Apostles in an effort to make people laugh.
The bishops said it was good that society defended the rights of minorities who had different beliefs to the majority of the people, but that no one had a right to ridicule the beliefs of others as was done in Nadur.
The bishops appealed to the authorities to not only to defend the rights of the minority, but also the majority of the people. This, they said, applied not only to the religious beliefs of the majority of people in Malta and Gozo, but also to public decency.
The bishops condemned what had taken place and said that those involved needed to recognise and respect the people’s religious and civil rights. They pointed out that what had taken place broke the law, which safeguarded values for the common good.
“These values, upheld by the Constitution and the laws, need to be protected,” the bishops added.
“When no action is taken, one would not be neutral, but would be approving what would have taken place. We are sure that was not the case.”
The bishops concluded by expressing the hope that what had happened would not be allowed to recur.