Archbishop asks God to forgive Malta's greed, exploitation of foreign workers

On the 60th anniversary of Malta's independence, Archbishop Charles Scicluna used his homily to pray for the nation's forgiveness for greed, corruption, arrogance, and exploitation of its foreign workers.

In his homily Scicluna used the prayer of Maltese saint, Saint Ġorġ Preca,” who thanked God for his blessings but also sought forgiveness. Scicluna started by thanking God for the foundations which shaped Malta along the centuries, and for the people who worked toward the progress of the country.

Addressing Malta's highest dignitaries, Scicluna asked forgiveness, "For all the times that greed becomes the poison that leads us, when we stole instead of gave, destroyed instead of built, or for when we built, we built wrongly and only for money."

He also asked for forgiveness for turning politics into a means for personal gain, and for the “arrogance and corruption” that stained Malta’s reputation, along with exploiting foreign workers. Scicluna prayed for forgiveness for the violence in words and actions that resulted in the assassination of inconvenient voices.

The archbishop urged the Maltese to follow the teachings of the gospel and embody Christ’s values. He highlighted Jesus’ disdain for arrogance, vanity, lies, and violence, and his love for humility, peace, and compassion for the poor.

He concluded by calling on the people to cherish the values embedded in the national anthem, a prayer by Dun Karm Psaila: wisdom, mercy, strength, unity, and peace.